Strategies for Consumer Research

Strategies for Consumer Research Consumer research is a type of applied sociology that attempts to map and understand the way in which consumers behave and make decisions about the products that they purchase. This is absolutely fundamental to those managing marketing processes for an organisation. Understanding how consumers make the decision to purchase a particular item of goods or service is vital to the setting out of marketing plans for products. The research will also discover which marketing approaches are the most successful and, therefore, which ones should be repeated to attract attention[1]. Typically, this type of research is statistical in nature, pulling together all of the decision inputs that consumers will look at, before making decisions[2]. For example, factors such as availability, price, likely value growth and functionality will all play an important role in terms of consumer decision making. Traditional consumer research aims to be entirely objective in nature and is undertaken in an impartia l manner, attempting to form an understanding of the actual state of affairs in the given product market. However, more recently, there has been recognition that many consumers will simply make impulse purchases and that one specific set of inputs will not always produce the same result, as human perceptions and decision making processes vary considerably from individual to individual, depending on a range of factors that cannot be neatly placed into a scientific analysis[3]. Essentially, there are two key approaches to consumer research which are recognised and discussed in the research paper by Isabelle Szmigin and Gordon Foxall. Traditionally, consumer research theorists have argued that consumer research must naturally either centre on the interpretive approach or the positivist approach[4]. Szmigin and Foxall argued that a combination of the two approaches will produce the best approach. Critically, Szmigin and Foxall recognise that the real value in consumer research comes from the quality of the information that the research gives to the managers making the ongoing marketing decisions. This has arguably been a massively overlooked factor in consumer research. The ultimate goal for consumer research should surely be to give a definitive course of action for a marketing department to follow in order to gain the maximum possible consumer penetration. By arguing this point, Szmigin and Foxall successfully demonstrate that the ideal form of consumer res earch must take account of both scientific, objective decision making factors as well as the subjective and emotional decision making factors, if it is to gain a detailed and inclusive understanding of consumer behaviour[5]. There are arguably inherent positives and negatives to both approaches and these are discussed by Szmigin and Foxall, with varying degrees of conviction. Ultimately, however, the authors failed to reach a final conclusion as to which method offered the better approach and instead opted to conclude that a middle ground would be the best approach. In this paper, the question as to whether this conclusion is a true reflection of the position or whether the authors simply failed to find conclusive evidence and were thus forced to reach this conclusion due to the absence of any convincing suggestions to the contrary is evident[6]. Interpretive v Positivism The two different approaches under discussion are interpretative and positivistic, although it could also be seen as a debate between science and art[7]. Similarly, positivistic consumer research is more commonly referred to as quantitative research and interpretative research is referred to as qualitative research. This is a direct reflection of the statistical importance of the positivistic approach. With the positivist approach, a large group of individuals is studied with an attempt to draw one conclusive set of statistics that explain all consumer behaviour. The focus is very much on the four Ps, namely product, price, place or location and promotion. In the positivist approach, the basis for the research is that the four Ps will be the underlying factors that will make up the decision making process for consumers. These are all objective factors and take little or no account of dealing with personal preferences as displayed by individual consumers. During this process, a hypoth esis is drawn up which essentially sets out the claims which the research aims either to prove or disprove. This positivist approach is heavily statistically based and the questioning of consumers will aim towards gaining figure based results that can be displayed in the form of graphs. Similarly, the reliability of the findings is tested by statistical methods including ascertaining the significance level of the data. Whilst this method is seen as being potentially conclusive and providing statistical data that can be used in marketing techniques, it fundamentally misses the fact that humans behave in different ways even when faced with the same raw data. Different consumers will make different decisions and will place different relative values on the input factors detailed above. Interpretative research aims to take this factor into account. Research is focussed on a smaller group of individuals with the aim of mapping out consumer behaviour based on a range of more subjective factors such as those relating to cultural and sociological impacts[8]. With this approach, however, the personality and subjective beliefs of the researcher are much more likely to have an impact on the results of the research. Personalities and subjective thoughts will naturally vary depending on the consumer’s values and, with this in mind, there is a serious question as to what value this type of research can off er to marketing professionals within a company. Without any statistical patterns of behaviour, it can be very difficult for marketing professionals to determine a set of trends that can be accurately relied upon[9]. Interpretative Approach Analysis Based on Szmigin and Foxall’s Research Szmigin and Foxall spent a large amount of their analysis considering whether the interpretative value has any merit and what it can offer in terms of additional value that this method offers the process of consumer research. Szmigin and Foxall recognised that papers relating to interpretative research are often seen as peripheral to positivistic research, offering little in the way of added value. This is, however, rightly discarded by the authors. The paper explains the concepts that have been developed surrounding the use of interpretative research. One of the most formative of these concepts is that indicated by Thompson[10], that interpretative research will come up with multiple possible worldviews rather than one individual ‘way of the world’, which was distinct from the positivistic approach. One of the central points determined by Szmigin and Foxall was that the interpretative approach accurately represented the complexities of human nature and that failure to consider this was a fatal flaw in the traditional positivistic approach[11]. Interestingly, the approach taken by Szmigin and Foxall, on the one hand, recognised the absolutely vital elements that the interpretative approach bring to the phenomenon that is essential for the complete understanding of consumer behaviour, but also gives credence to the way in which this approach is too value laden and thus not entirely reliable as a source of information for marketing professionals. The weakness of allowing subjective and internal states of the consumers to be taken into account is widely accepted by Szmigin and Foxall, yet despite this, there is a refusal to write off this approach, entirely[12]. One possible way of reconciling these opposing thoughts is that of considering the interpretative research methods as a way of ascertaining a range of several possible causes of action based on the range of potential consumer thought patterns from which positivistic research approaches can be used to narrow down the data into a more useful set of conclusions. It is this combination of the two approaches that Szmigin and Foxall focus on in reaching their conclusion. The approach, on the face of it, appears to be entirely logical given the data available. A Further Look at Interpretative Research Before simply accepting the proposition that the interpretative research approach offers additional supporting information to the more traditional approach, a greater analysis of the potential added value that can be obtained through the use of interpretative research is required. Klein Myers[13] argued that interpretative research is simply a way by which knowledge is obtained through consumer research. Rather than seeing interpretative research as a distinct method of conducting consumer research, it may be viewed as a way of filtering the information gathered through a set of cultural and social parameters. Interpretative research does not involve the pre-setting of parameters or any other variables; instead, it lets the social context influence the phenomenon. It seems that the approach of combing the two theories is powerful, but not in the way that Szmigin and Foxall identified. A paper by Bruce Rowlands[14] also explored the issue of the relative use of interpretative and positivistic approaches. However, in this case, it was concluded that the combination of the two approaches would be valuable but not simply because no conclusive conclusion relating to the choice of one over the other could be reached, but rather due to the fact that combining the two approaches can achieve the best of both worlds, in certain circumstances. In this case, it was held that the two approaches worked well together where the non constrained interpretative approach can be used within at least a certain set of boundaries (albeit loosely defined)[15]. Critically, this paper recognised that the problem with interpretative research is that reaching a meaningful conclusion can be virtually impossible, in many situations. This is down to the potential width of results that such an untargeted approach can cause. However, in this paper it was concluded by Bruce Rowlands that this difficulty could largely be overcome by setting at least basic parameters to guide the research in the first instance to ensure a degree of control in the research process[16]. By combining the findings of the Bruce Rowlands paper and that of the paper under current discussion, it is clear to see that there is at least some merit in the argument that the two methods can be successfully combined to offer rounded consumer research[17]. Positivistic Approach Analysis Based on Szmigin and Foxall’s Research It seems, from considering both the research as conducted by Szmigin and Foxall and other related research in the area, that it is generally thought that interpretative research methods have been developed to fill in the gaps of the positivistic approach. In order to explore this theory fully, the perceived weaknesses of the positivistic approach from the perspective of Szmigin and Foxall requires further consideration, as this will give a clear indication of the anticipated role of interpretative research methods. By establishing the weaknesses of the positivistic approach, it will then be possible to ascertain whether the use of interpretative research would indeed fill this gap and should, therefore, be considered as a means of offering a more complete consumer behaviour analysis[18]. Szmigin and Foxall saw that there were several inherent weaknesses in the positivistic approach. Firstly, it was identified that the underlying assumption that there is one reality that does not change; this is clearly unrealistic with consumers in a constant state of flux with ever changing external and internal decision factors. True positivism also works on the assumption that all consumers will make purchasing decision based on entirely reasoned factors with absolutely no input from irrational desires and impulse purchases. This is an over-simplistic view of the way in which consumers actually make decisions. It is well recognised that consumers will often make purchasing decision based on entirely irrational desires and, therefore, certain data patterns will be entirely meaningless, if only rational decision factors are considered. Szmigin and Foxall also recognised that in taking this concept of a single reality as encouraged by the positivistic approach, there is a danger that all other possible realities are excluded, thus potentially missing out other possibly valuable data sets. These main weaknesses in the positivistic approach are argued by Szmigin and Foxall to be the reason that interpretative research methods are necessary in order to fill in these gaps. These weaknesses are so substantial that it is accepted by Szmigin and Foxall that a positivistic approach is so fundamentally flawed that it alone cannot produce any meaningful data for the eventual users, namely the marketing manager in the relevant organisation. A Wider Look at the Positivistic Approach The positivistic or quantitative approach to consumer research is regarded as the traditional approach to consumer research; therefore, there is considerably more research available on the potential weaknesses to this area of research. Martin Callingham[19] stated that the main weakness in the use of qualitative approach is that, although input factors can be analysed against the actual outcome, there is no way, through using this direct data to ascertain whether the input factor was the actual cause of the witnessed outcome[20]. For example, if a company runs an advertising campaign and sees sales increase, the positivistic approach will show the statistical increase in sales, but will not show that it was the advertising campaign that drove this increase. The rise in sales will not necessarily be down to the advertising campaign; it could be down to a range of other cultural or social factors[21]. This failure to link cause and effect is the cited reason for the need to enhance the traditional positivistic approach[22]. Quantitative research is entirely science based with the emphasis on objectivity reliability and generalisations. Whilst this is clearly desirable in the field of research, consumer behaviour simply does not fall neatly within this scientific approach. There is positive value to be had in this approach, particularly when the aim of the research is to link directly some factor with base line results; it is both unbiased and objective with no values being derived from the researcher themselves. Despite this, the positivistic approach is clearly limited. Any variable that is not part of the model is totally disregarded and, as such, it is limited in its findings to the variables that are laid out in the original model[23]. Any fluidity of consumer behaviour will not be captured, which is an essential part of any consumer research project. It is this weakness that the use of interpretative research aims to manage and deal with by adding value to the overall research project[24]. Summary of Findings The need to expand upon the traditional positivistic approach has been clearly recognised by Szmigin and Foxall. The paper recognises that there are inherent weaknesses in both approaches to consumer research which render the use of one research method to the exclusion of the other, ineffective[25]. However the paper has been slightly unsatisfactory in the way in which it reaches this conclusion. The approach taken by Szmigin and Foxall involved the consideration of the weakness of both methods and, having concluded that both methods have fundamental flaws, it was then decided that the only possible solution was to use a combination of the two. This conclusion is agreed with; however, a slightly more positive approach to reaching this conclusion would have been welcome[26]. Other research papers have taken a more pragmatic approach by considering the difficulties and weaknesses with the traditional approach and then looking positively at whether or not the interpretative approach can suitably fill the gaps in a way that would improve the nature of the consumer research[27]. The weaknesses in the traditional approach of failing to consider discarded variables and of failing to link the cause and effect of behaviour have been duly noted by Szmigin and Foxall. Where the analysis falls down is that they do not then go on to consider fully how the interpretative approach could deal with these issues. It would seem, therefore, that by pulling together all of the relevant research in this area using an interpretative approach predominately yet with at least the basic controls such as those suggested by the positivistic approach, the best of both worlds will be achieved and the most comprehensive consumer research can be undertaken[28]. In summary, therefore, Szmigin and Foxall have reached the correct conclusion as to the importance of combining the two approaches, but the way in which this conclusion was reached could have been achieved in a more positive fashion rather than it being a default position which is what appears to have been the case with Szmigin and Foxall. Bibliography Anderson, Paul F., On method in consumer research: a critical relativist perspective, Journal of Consumer Research, 13 (Sept), 1986, 155-173. Belk, Russell W., Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods in Marketing, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006. Blumer, Herbert,, Symbolic Interactionsim, Englewood Cliffs: NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1967. Brown, Stephen, Marketing and literature: the anxiety of academic influence, Journal of Marketing, 63 (Jan), 1999, 1-15. Calder, Bobby J., Tybout, Alice M., Interpretive, qualitative , and traditional scientific empirical consumer behaviour research, in Hirschman, Elizabeth. C. (ed.), Interpretive Consumer Research, Provo, UT: Association of Consumer Research, 1989, 199-208. Callingham, Martin, Market Intelligence: How and why Organizations Use Market Research, Kogan Page Publishers, 2004. Charmaz, Kathy, Between positivism and postmodernism: implications for methods, Studies in Symbolic Interaction, 17, 1995, 43-72. Cova, Bernard, Elliott , Richard, Everything you always wanted to know about interpretive consumer research but were afraid to ask, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 11, 2, 2008. Davies, Andrea, Fitchett, James A.,An Empirical Exposition of Paradigm Incommesurability in Consumer Research: Two Museum Studies Revisited, Proceedings of the EIASM Interpretive Consumer Research Conference, Brussels, May 2000. Firat, A. Fuat, Venkateash, Alladi, Liberatory postmodernism and the re-enachtment of consumption, Journal of Consumer Research, 22 (3), 1995, 239-67. Goulding, Christina, Consumer research, interpretive paradigms and methodological ambiguities, European Journal of Marketing, 33, 9/10, 1999, 859-873. Goulding, Christina, Grounded theory: the missing methodology on the interpretivist agenda, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 1(1), 1998, 50-57. Hackley, Christopher E., Doing Research Projects in Marketing, Management and Consumer Research, Routledge, 2003. Heath, Timothy B., The reconciliation of humanism and positivism in the practice of consumer research: a view from the trenches, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sciences, 20 (2), 1992, 107-118. Hirschman, Elizabeth. C., Scientific style and the conduct of consumer research, Journal of Consumer Research, 12 (Sept), 1985. 225-239. Hirschman, Elizabeth C., Postmodern Consumer Research. The Study of Consumption as Text, Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1992. Hoffman, Donna, Holbrook, Morris B., The intellectual structure of consumer research: a bibliographic study of author cocitations in the first 15 years of the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research, 19 (March), 1993,505-517. Hogg, Margaret K., Maclaran, Pauline, Rhetorical issues in writing interpretivist consumer research, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 11, 2, 2008. Hudson, Laurel A., Ozanne, Julie L., Alternative ways of seeking knowledge in consumer research, Journal of Consumer Research, 14 (March), 1988, 508-521. Hunt, Shelby. D., Positivism and paradigm dominance in consumer research: towards critical pluralism and rapprochement, Journal of Consumer Research, 18 (June), 1991, 32-44. Klein, H., Myers, M., A Set of Principals for Conducting and Evaluating Interpretive Field Studies in Information Systems, MIS Quarterly, 23, 1, 1999, 67-94. Leong, Siew M., Sheth, Jagdish N., Tan, Ching T., An empirical study of the scientific styles of marketing academics, European Journal of Marketing, 28 (8/9), 1994, 12-26. Lutz, Richard J., Positivism, naturalism and pluralism in consumer research: paradigms in paradise, in Advances in Consumer Research,16 ed. Srull, Thomas, Provo:UT: Association of Consumer Research, 1989, 1-7. McQuarrie, Edward F. Glen-Mick, David, On resonance : a critical pluralistic inquiry into advertising rhetoric, Journal of Consumer Research, 19 (Sept), 1992, 180-197. Nancarrow, Clive, Moskvin, Alexander, Shankar, Avi, Bridging the great divide the transfer of techniques (qualitative and quantitative techniques), Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 14 (6), 1996, 27-37. Rowlands, Bruce H., Grounded in Practice: Using Interpretive Research to Build Theory, Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 3, 1, 2005, 81-92. Schiffman, Leon G., Hansen, Havard, Kanuk, Leslie Lazar, Consumer Behaviour: A European Outlook, Pearson Education, 2008. Silverman, David , Qualitative Research, Theory, Methods and Practice, London: Sage, 1997. Solomon, Michael R., Bamossy, Gary, Askergaard, Soren, Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999. The VOICE Group, Reflections on collaboration in interpretive consumer research, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 11, 2, 2008. Thompson, Craig J., Eureka! and other tests of significance: a new look at evaluating interpretive research, Advances in Consumer Research, 17, eds. Goldberg, Marvin, Gorn, Gerald, Pollay, Richard, 1990, 25-30. Footnotes [1] Nancarrow, Clive, Moskvin, Alexander, Shankar, Avi, Bridging the great divide the transfer of techniques (qualitative and quantitative techniques), Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 14 (6), 1996, 27-37. [2] Hackley, Christopher E., Doing Research Projects in Marketing, Management and Consumer Research, Routledge, 2003 [3] Silverman, David, Qualitative Research, Theory, Methods and Practice, London: Sage, 1997 [4] Schiffman, Leon G., Hansen, Havard, Kanuk, Leslie Lazar, Consumer Behaviour: A European Outlook, Pearson Education, 2008 [5] Hogg, Margaret K., Maclaran, Pauline, Rhetorical issues in writing interpretivist consumer research, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 11, 2, 2008 [6] Hudson, Laurel A., Ozanne, Julie L., Alternative ways of seeking knowledge in consumer research, Journal of Consumer Research, 14 (March), 508-521, 1988 [7] Hirschman, Elizabeth. C., Scientific style and the conduct of consumer research, Journal of Consumer Research, 12 (Sept), 1985, 225-239, 18 [8] Solomon, Michael R., Bamossy, Gary, Askergaard, Soren,, Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999 [9] Calder, Bobby J., Tybout, Alice M., Interpretive, qualitative, and traditional scientific empirical consumer behaviour research in Hirschman, Elizabeth. C. (ed.), Interpretive Consumer Research, Provo, UT: Association of Consumer Research, 1989, 199-208 [10] Thompson, Craig J., Eureka! and other tests of significance: a new look at evaluating interpretive research, Advances in Consumer Research, 17, eds. Goldberg, Marvin, Gorn, Gerald, Pollay, Richard, 25-30, 1990. [11] The VOICE Group, Reflections on collaboration in interpretive consumer research, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 11, 2, 2008 [12] Davies, Andrea, Fitchett, James A., An Empirical Exposition of Paradigm Incommesurability in Consumer Research: Two Museum Studies Revisited, Proceedings of the EIASM Interpretive Consumer Research Conference, Brussels, May 2000. [13] Klein, H., Myers, M., A Set of Principals for Conducting and Evaluating Interpretive Field Studies in Information Systems, MIS Quarterly, 23, 1,,1999, 67-94 [14] Rowlands, Bruce H., Grounded in Practice: Using Interpretive Research to Build Theory, Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 3, 1, 2005 (81-92) [15] Brown, Stephen, Marketing and literature: the anxiety of academic influence, Journal of Marketing, 63 (Jan), 1-15, 1999 [16] Hoffman, Donna, Holbrook, Morris B.,The intellectual structure of consumer research: a bibliographic study of author cocitations in the first 15 years of the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research, 19 (March),1993, 505-517. [17] Cova, Bernard, Elliott, Richard, Everything you always wanted to know about interpretive consumer research but were afraid to ask, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 11,2, 2008 [18] Hirschman, Elizabeth C., Postmodern Consumer Research. The Study of Consumption as Text, Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1992. [19] Callingham, Martin, Market Intelligence: How and why Organizations Use Market Research, Kogan Page Publishers, 2004 [20] Hunt, Shelby. D., Positivism and paradigm dominance in consumer research: towards critical pluralism and rapprochement, Journal of Consumer Research, 18 (June), 1991, 32-44. [21] McQuarrie, Edward F., Glen-Mick, David , 1992, On resonance : a critical pluralistic inquiry into advertising rhetoric, Journal of Consumer Research, 19 (Sept), 1992, 180-197. [22] Anderson, Paul F.,On method in consumer research: a critical relativist perspective, Journal of Consumer Research, 13 (Sept), 1986, 155-173. [23] Heath, Timothy B.,The reconciliation of humanism and positivism in the practice of consumer research: a view from the trenches, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sciences, 20 (2), 1992, 107-118. [24] Leong, Siew M., Sheth, Jagdish N., Tan, Ching T., An empirical study of the scientific styles of marketing academics, European Journal of Marketing, 28 (8/9), 1994, 12-26. [25] Goulding, Christina, Consumer research, interpretive paradigms and methodological ambiguities, European Journal of Marketing, 33, 9/10, 1999, 859-873. [26] Belk, Russell W., Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods in Marketing, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006 [27] Charmaz, Kathy, Between positivism and postmodernism: implications for methods, Studies in Symbolic Interaction, 17, 1995, 43-72. [28] Lutz, Richard J., â€Å"Positivism, naturalism and pluralism in consumer research: paradigms in paradise, in Advances in Consumer Research, 16, ed. Srull, Thomas, Provo:UT: Association of Consumer Research, 1-7, 1989

conifers :: essays research papers

While I was in Woodland Cemetery, some organisms that I noticed there were conifer trees. Such as the White Pine (Strobus pinus), Junipers (Juniperus), Doughlasfir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia), Hemlocks (Tsuga), Norway Spruce (Picea), White Cedar (Thuja), and Birch trees (Betula) The white Pine tree can be detected by looking at its pine needles. Its needles only come in a bundle of five. Pine needles are consumed by some species of grouse and by several browsers. The white pine tree is also valuable as cover for wildlife. Young trees with foliage spreading near the ground make good all-year cover for game birds, squirrel, deer, and other ground animals. White pines are usually found around well-drained sandy soils, sometimes in pure sand. Juniper grows in pastures, fenced rows, and other open places. Hoofed browsers often eat their twigs and foliage, but the main attraction to wildlife is the bluish-black berry like fruit it produces. The cedar waxwing is one of the principal users of juniper berries, but other animals make these fruit apart of their diet. Junipers also provide important protective and nesting cover for birds and field mice. Doughlasfirs are commonly found on moist, well-drained mountain slopes and in valleys through out the Rockies and in the Pacific Northwest. The ones found here can often exceed 200 feet in height. Western squirrels and other rodents use the small, winged seeds of this conifer. The foliage and twigs are important to several kinds of browsers. Doughlasfir needles, which are tightly compressed with some of the staminate cones, constitute a top rank winter food for blue grouse. Hemlocks are tall straight-trunk conifers and are usually found around moist, cool slopes, mainly in the northern latitudes or on higher mountains. The dense, low foliage of young plants makes excellent winter coverage for ruffed grouse, wild turkey, deer, and other wildlife. The small, winged seeds are important food for the pine siskin, crossbills, chickadees, blue grouse and several other rodents including the red squirrel. Norway Spruce is v-shaped in size and grows on high mountains where the climate is cool and considerable rain falls. Rabbits and deer browse the foliage and twigs in the winter. The small, winged seeds of spruce are valuable food of the white winged crossbill and are eaten by several other kinds of birds, as well as by squirrels and chipmunks.

Combating Compassion Fatigue Essay

The nursing profession is a complex field that can challenge you mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. People who go into the field of nursing have daily interacts with patients’ and families in need of medical help and guidance. Nurses face numerous challenges on a daily basis and must be able to handle not only their patients’ issues, but remain strong and healthy to avoid compassion fatigue and burnout. Compassion fatigue is defined as emotional, spiritual, and physical exhaustion resulting from â€Å"witnessing and absorbing the problems and suffering of others† (Wisniewski, 2013). Compassion fatigue can lead to burnout with one’s professional career and affect home life. Caregivers can also be affected by compassion fatigue and burnout from the roles that they play with their loved ones. It is vital to be able to identify the warning signs of compassion fatigue and burnout. This is a battle that can be â€Å"fought with a commitment to personal health and well-being† (Chapman, 2007). Health care professionals and caregivers need to be able to find a balance and maintain health in their own spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional lives to assist patient’s to optimal care. Strategies on stress management, healthy lifestyle choices, and resources available will be discussed to help prevent and manage these issues. â€Å"Nurses are the backbone of the medical system and act as the first line of patient medical care† (Chen et al., 2009). Dealing and coping with stress is vital for nurses to maintain to provide adequate care. Compassion fatigue is a feeling of hopelessness and a loss in the sense of meaning in one’s life. Symptoms can be â€Å"strong feelings of anxiety, difficulty concentrating, being jumpy or easily startled, irritability, difficulty sleeping, excessive emotional numbing, and intrusive images of another’s traumatic material† (Portnoy, 2011). These symptoms need to be recognized to receive help or they can progres s to long-term effects and  complications. There are five concepts of compassion fatigue that need to be addressed to help with prevention and burnout. The first concept is cognitive; symptoms can be apathy, disorientation, trouble concentration, and harshness. The second concept is emotional; signs can be anxiety, fear, helplessness, feelings of powerlessness, depression, having bad dreams, and shock. The third concept is behavioral which can be lack of sleep, moody, change in appetite, withdrawn, and repeatedly having bad dreams. The fourth concept is spiritual. This area can lead the individual to question their role in life and their profession, feelings of being lost, and questioning faith and personal beliefs. The last concept is somatic, meaning affecting one’s voluntary nervous system. This can cause rapid heartbeats, trouble breathing, headaches, aches and pains, trouble staying or falling asleep, and sweating (Portnoy, 2011). There are numerous factors that can lead up to and cause compassion fatigue. Triggers can be issues with management such as nursing acuity, patient to nurse ratios, overworked nurses, personal issues, lack of support from coworkers or bosses, and loss of the feeling that the nurse is making a difference. To combat these factors in nurses and other employees in health care, managers and organizations need to be aware of this dynamic issue and offer help (Portnoy, 2011). Creating an open environment along with education and training on how to deal with these complex issues is the first step to addressing compassion fatigue within the workplace. Group meetings within the workplace will offer the nurses a chance to share their thoughts and feelings, realizing that they are not alone. Building bonds with coworkers and sharing patient experiences will help to encourage positive healthy habits. Self-care is vital for nurses to maintain to keep life in balance and to adequately take proper care of our patients. Everybody has stress, learning how to deal with it is the key to happiness and a healthy well-being. Nurses are constantly educating our patient’s on lifestyle changes needed to maintain health such as a proper diet, exercise, and a strong support system. We in turn need to practice what we preach and maintain our health to be at our best to help our patients achieve their best. Burnout and compassion fatigue are sometimes talked about as one, but there are differences. Burnout is â€Å"state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress† (Preventing Burnout, n.d.). Signs of burnout can be depression or  detachment, emotions are rigid, loss of hope and motivation, and a feeling of not worthy of living. Burnout can be caused by lifestyles or work-related issues. Working in an environment that you feel like you have no control or lack of resources can lead to burnout. Self-care is needed to maintain positive outlets to express one’s stress to avoid burnout in one’s personal life. There are physical, emotional, and behavioral signs of burnout. Physical signs are feelings of being tired all the time, being sick a lot, change in sleeping habits, body aches, and frequent headaches. Emotional signs can be loss of motivation, feelings of helplessness, feelings of detachment, sense of doubt, and an increased negative outlook in life. Behavioral signs can be isolation from others, avoidance of responsibilities, drug or alcohol abuse, missing work, and anger directed at others (Preventing Burnout, n.d.). There are several ways to help prevent burnout. Learning how to manage stress and adopting a positive healthy eating, sleeping, and exercising habits are good examples to start with. It is important to know when you need help and that it is available. Burnout can lead to compassion fatigue within your professional career. Nurses who are tired, overworked, and stress out over time without help can suffer from burnout and in turn fall into compassion fatigue. Nurses need compassion to help guide patients in their medical situations, if the nurse is stressed out and needing help herself then how can she guide the patient? Burnout can be healed, addressing the issues and finding â€Å"your balance by reassessing priorities, making time for yourself, and seeking support† (Preventing Burnout, n.d.). There is a three â€Å"R† approach when dealing with burnout; recognize, reverse, and resilience. Recognition of burnout, reversal of the damage caused from stress, and building resilience to deal with the stress by taking care of one’s emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual health. Identification is one step into addressing compassion fatigue and burnout. One can recover from burnout. There are three strategies that one should remain mindful of, slow down, get support, and reevaluate your goals and priorities (Preventing Burnout, n.d.). When dealing with job burnout there are a few options that you can do to improve the circumstances. Taking time off, asking for a new assignment, speaking with management about issues, and clarifying your job duties are a few suggestions to start with. Caregiver burnout can happen to anyone at any  given time. The roles of caregivers are equally important like that of nursing. Caregivers are responsible for the direct care of a loved one and can experience compassion fatigue as well as burnout. Being involved with a loved one’s care can cause physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual distress. The health of the caregivers is important for the success of the one who is receiving the care. Promoting policies and interventions that will help the caregivers to avoid emotional exhaustion is the goal. Caregivers need to remain aware of their needs and beliefs and know when to ask for help should they need it. Education is the start to helping patients, families, and caregivers; talking about compassion fatigue and burnout allows people to see that they are not alone and that help is available. There are numerous resources available to assist those seeking help such as The Gift from Within organization that specializes in helping people deal with trauma and stress. There is also a Compassion Fatigue organization that aims at educating people on how important self-care is and how vital it is to know the signs and symptoms (Portnoy, 2011). In conclusion, compassion fatigue is the loss of self and burnout is the emotional exhaustion that one can feel. Nurses and health care professionals are at higher risks of having these issues come up; however caregivers can suffer from these issues just as easily. The goal to combating these topics is to bring awareness to them and to continue educating people on the ways to handle them. Sometimes asking for help is hard, but it is the first step in the right direction to becoming a healthy well-being who can handle stress. Seeking guidance from professionals will benefit the person in distress as well as their families. To be emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually sound one must take care of themselves in all aspects of life. One must have compassionate caring, empathic boundaries, self-awareness, spirituality and hope, and self-forgiveness to succeed in life (Bush, 2009). References Bush, N. (2009). Compassion fatigue: are you at risk? Oncology Nursing Forum, 36(1), 24-28. doi:10.1188/09.ONF.24-28 Chapman, E. (2007). Radical loving care: Building the healing hospital in America. Nashville, TN: Vaughn Printing Chen, C., Lin, C., Wang, S., & Hou, T. (2009). A study of job stress, stress coping strategies, and job satisfaction for nurses working in middle-level hospital operating rooms. Journal Of Nursing Research (Taiwan Nurses Association), 17(3), 199-211. doi:10.1097/JNR.0b013e3181b2557b Portnoy, D. (2011). Burnout and Compassion Fatigue Watch for the Signs. Journal of the Catholic Health Association of the United States, 47-51. Retrieved January 20, 2015, from http://www.compassionfatigue.org/pages/healthprogress.pdf Preventing Burnout. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2015, from http://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/preventing-burnout.htm Wisniewski, L. (2013, February 5). What is Nursing Stress, Burnout, or Compassion Fatigue? Retrieved January 20, 2015, from http://www.nursetogether.com/what-is-nursing-stress-burnout-or-compassion-fatigue

buy custom Fascinating Argumentative Essay Sample on Drug-Sniffing Dogs

buy custom Fascinating Argumentative Essay Sample on Drug-Sniffing Dogs Argumentative Essay Sample on Drug-Sniffing Dogs in High School Campuses The Use of Drug-Sniffing Dogs in High School Campuses With the rising use of drugs amongst high school students, initiatives to curb these trends are developed within the various institutions that get charged with molding their character. The family institutions, schools and religious departments put their efforts to reduce the statistic of students abusing drugs. The use of marijuana, alcohol, ecstasy and commonly abused prescription drugs by students makes the control of drug abuse strenuous. The scope of drugs that can be abused is far beyond the limit of control measures put forward to prevent access to them. The high schools recently initiated a new measure to deter students from the use of drugs, which are drug-sniffing dogs. The dogs do random, periodical searches through the campuses of a given high school to fish out drugs and other related paraphernalia. This was meant to discourage students from coming to school with drugs. This move is not appropriate as it is extreme and is followed by a plethora of adverse effects.

Jekyll and Hyde essays

Jekyll and Hyde essays Mamoulian's version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is widely regarded as the greatest film adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, first published in 1886. Much of the success of the film is the result of Mamoulian's technique. The film is full of both obvious and not so obvious point of view shots, allowing the viewer to get a sense of the subjective view of certain characters as well as allowing us to view the scene through a camera freed from some of the forced restraints of limited movement that are typical of early sound filmmaking and classical Hollywood cinema. It is in this respect that the film is often most complex. The opening shots of the film take us from Jekyll playing piano in his house, through the streets of London, and into a lecture theatre. All of these shots are subjective: the edges of the frame are fogged giving us the idea of a kind of 'true' optical viewpoint; other characters directly address the camera; and we don't directly see except as a reflection in a mirror or as hands playing on a piano but only hear Jekyll. This opening performs a number of key functions. First, it helps us recognize the esteem within which Jekyll is placed (as policemen, colleagues and servants all bow or respond to him respectfully). Second, by using this point of view initially the film suggests a degree of involvement between Jekyll; and us as if the future of his fate and his strange behavior might not be so different from our own. At various points, we seem to see the perspective of another character or observe, as a character looks straight back at us. The most appealing and unsettling instance of this occurs in the first scene between Ivy and Jekyll. As Ivy undresses, she looks straight into the camera, throwing her garter past it and onto the ground next to Jekyll. Though seductive and playful, this seeming light-hearted scene becomes, in retrospect, deeply di...

Articles of Change Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Articles of Change - Research Paper Example Labor Market Effects of Wal-Mart Expansion, by Basker (2008), the rationale for change entails trends in the labor market as Wal-Mart operations expand. Need for change is influenced by variant factors in the organizational setting. In Aparna, Hui, and Hyuntak’s text, streamlined employment laws and regulations act as the external pressure driving the underlying change. On the other hand, change in Basker’s text is driven by market forces in the labor market as business expansion creates job opportunities. In the contemporary times, globalization is increasingly becoming a critical pressure behind need for change. In the two publications presented above, this pressure is essentially in play. International linkages and relations have redesigned labor markets across the globe, and they have also influenced global demographics in the workplace (Leslie & Linda, 2012). The chosen publications exhibit both commonalities and differences. Both articles address trends in the labor market. While the first one focuses on workplace demography, the second one evaluates growth and development of the labor force subject to organizational expansion. Therefore, different approaches are employed to capture trends in labor demand and supply. Change in the organizational context is designed to enhance organizational performance. In this respect, an organization pursues change as it deems it necessary relative to the set organizational goals and objectives. Therefore, all organizational changes are legitimate, but what matters is their urgency. The urgency of organizational change is influenced by the actual operations that constitute the change. In the light of the chosen publications, changes regarding workplace demography are more urgent than shifts in labor demand and supply that are triggered by organizational expansion. This is because expansion plans can spread over a long period of time, within which workplace demography is

Ara Pacis Auguste and Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus Essay

Ara Pacis Auguste and Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus - Essay Example The essay "Ara Pacis Auguste and Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus" focuses on the contrast of Ara Pacis Auguste and the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. The Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus is also constructed in marble and was used to encase the body of Junius Bassus. The figures on the sarcophagus are three dimensional and the figures wear draped clothing that does not show folds. In contrast the the Ara Pacis Auguste alter, the figures on the Sarcophagus have large heads but is not at all like the workmanship of that time period. While the Ara Pacis Auguste depicts gods, the Saracophagus of Junius Bassus instead depicts Christianity. When looking at the Arch of Constantine and the Synagogue Wall Paintings from Dura-Europos, Syria, the Arch is an enormous arch in Rome near the Colosseum and was used to recognize the victory of Constantine I in the Battle of Milvian Bridge. The arch is actually comprised of three architectural arches with the largest one in the middle. The pieces are from prev ious structures put together to make this one landmark. It is composed of columns that were detached while the bottom part of the arch is re-used from an older structure and the entire structure covers a huge part of area. The design on the Arch depicts Constantine next to other victorious good emperord as well as other people and symbols that represent victory in war. The Dura-Europos Synagogue was previously mistaken for a Greek temple. Instead of using the stone to use to portray characters through carving.... Some of the people in the paintings which are mostly dressed as Perisians have their eyes scratched out. Many think that the walls were used to educate others about the history of religion rather than a tribute like the Arch does. Looking at the wall paintings from the Villa at Boscoreale, Italy and the Catacomb Paintings of the Good Shepherd and Jonah from Rome, Italy, the paintings of the Villa are comprised of plaster. It shows a golden statue that pays tribute to Diana Lucina and other large golden vases. The coloring uses a lot of bright bold reds and gilded sections while other parts of the painting are more subtle and blend in which could represent its unimportance. The Catacomb Paintings of the Good Shepherd and Jonah is also a piece of Roman art were in common Christian burial places. The painting of Jonah is where he is thrown to sea. The lines are blurry as are the faces of the characters which is very different than the detail of the wall paintings at the Villa. While red is also a predominant color and the golden boat are similar to the works from the Villa, the paintings of both Jonah and The Good Shepherd both appear to be more weathered and less detailed. The Good Shepherd is blurry and faceless as well and the color tones are mostly earth tones with some bright casts of golden yellow. These paintings depict Christian stories so the common theme between the two works are of the importance of Christianity during these time frames. When looking at the Equestrian Sculpture of Marcus Aurelius and the Sculpture of the Tetrarchs, the one of Marcus Aurelius is completely made of bronze. The entire sculpture stands upon a large platform with the horse's legs slightly lifted and Marcus Aurelius looking like a person of grandeur. The appearance is