Infectious Disease and Health Protection Agency Essay Example for Free

Infectious Disease and Health Protection Agency Essay The guidance is divided into sections as follows: Section 1Introduces infection control and explains notification; Section 2deals with general infection control procedures; Section 3gives guidance on the management of outbreaks; Section 4describes specific infectious diseases; Section 5contact numbers and sources of information; Section 6contains additional detailed information and a table of diseases; Section 7contains risk assessments relevant to infection control; Section 8 research sources, references and useful web sites Further information is available from the Food Safety Adviser at Leicestershire County Council and from the Health Protection Agency – East Midlands South. Contact numbers are listed in Section 5. The aim of this document is to provide simple advice on the actions needed in the majority of situations likely to be encountered in social care settings. It is written in everyday language and presented so that individual subject areas can be easily copied for use as a single sheet. 1. 1 HOW ARE INFECTIONS TRANSMITTED? 1. 2 INFECTION CONTROL GUIDANCE Infection control forms part of our everyday lives, usually in the form of common sense and basic hygiene procedures. Where large numbers of people come in contact with each other, the risk of spreading infection increases. This is particularly so where people are in close contact and share eating and living accommodation. It is important to have guidelines to protect service users, staff and visitors. Adopting these guidelines and standard infection control practices will minimise the spread of infectious diseases to everyone. External Factors If you or someone in your immediate family has a â€Å"Notifiable Disease† such as Measles (see 1. 3) or infection such as Impetigo, diarrhoea, vomiting or Scabies, please inform your line manager before coming to work. If you regularly visit people in hospital please be aware of the potential risk of cross infection to yourself and the person you are visiting. Above all when dealing with service users and their families we must all remember we are dealing with people. There will be personal issues of privacy and sensitivity, which we must handle with tact and discretion at all times. What are Infection Control Practices? Infection control practices are ways that everyone (staff, service users volunteers) can prevent the transmission of infection from one person to another. They are practices which should be routinely adopted, at all times with every individual, on every occasion, regardless of whether or not that person is known to have an infection. 1. 2 INFECTION CONTROL GUIDANCE – cont. include: 1. 3 NOTIFICATION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES A number of infectious diseases are statutorily notifiable under The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 and The Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1988. There are three main reasons for such notification. So that control measures can be taken To monitor preventative programmes For surveillance of infectious diseases in order to monitor levels of infectious diseases and to detect outbreaks so that effective control measures can be taken. All doctors diagnosing or suspecting a case of any of the infectious diseases listed overleaf have a legal duty to report it to the Proper Officer of the Local Authority, who is usually the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control based at the Health Protection Agency. Notification should be made at the time of clinical diagnosis and should not be delayed until laboratory confirmation is received. Infections marked (T) should be notified by telephone to the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control (see Section 5) and confirmed by completion of a written notification form. 1. 3 NOTIFICATION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES – cont. Notifiable Diseases Acute encephalitis Paratyphoid(T) Acute poliomyelitisPlague(T) AnthraxRabies(T) Cholera(T)Relapsing Fever(T) Diphtheria(T)Rubella Dysentry(T)Scarlet Fever Food poisoning orSmall Pox suspected food poisoning LeprosyTetanus LeptospirosisTuberculosis MalariaTyphoid fever(T) MeaslesTyphus fever(T) Meningitis * (T)Viral haemorrhagic fever(T) Meningococcal septicaemia(T)Viral hepatitis ** (without meningitis) MumpsWhooping cough Opthalmia neonatorumYellow fever * meningococcal, pneumococcal, haemophilus influenzae, viral, other specified, unspecified ** Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B Hepatitis C, other (T)Please notify the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control or person on call for the Health Protection Agency by telephone. Other specific diseases are designated by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 as â€Å"Reportable Occupational Diseases† e. g. Legionellosis. Please contact the Health Safety Team for further information (see section 5 for details). 1. 3 NOTIFICATION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES – cont. Notification of suspected outbreaks An outbreak is defined as two or more cases of a condition related in time and location with suspicion of transmission. Prompt investigation of an outbreak and introduction of control measures depends upon early communication. Suspicion of any association between cases should prompt contact with the Health Protection Agency. 1. 4 IMMUNISATION COSHH requires that if a risk assessment shows there to be a risk of exposure to biological agents for which vaccines exist, then these should be offered if the employee is not already immune. In practice, with Social Care Services, this generally amounts to care staff within the Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Services being offered Hepatitis B vaccination. Care home managers, after assessing risks, may also offer ‘flu vaccination to staff and individual cases may indicate the need for immunisation in certain circumstances. The pros and cons of immunisation/non-immunisation should be explained when making the offer of immunisation. The Health Safety at Work Act 1974 requires that employees are not charged for protective measures such as immunisation. A few GPs will make vaccinations available free to Social Care workers but they are not obliged to do so and can charge at their discretion. Departmental funding for the provision of vaccine, through Occupational Health, is restricted and so it is vital that only those to whom it is essential to provide immunisation are offered this service. The majority of staff will have received immunisation from childhood and have received the appropriate booster doses e. g. Tetanus, Rubella, Measles and Polio. However, it is important for the immunisation state of staff to be checked e. g. women of childbearing age should be protected against Rubella. Good practice and common sense should indicate that the immunisation state of staff is checked and appropriate action taken. If there is a potential risk of infection, change of work rotas or areas of responsibility can sometimes avoid the risk of contamination. Vaccination is not always the only course of action and in some cases staff may not agree to be vaccinated. 1. 4. 1 IMMUNISATION SCHEDULE Vaccine Age Notes D/T/P and Hib Polio 1st dose at 2 months 2nd dose at 3 months 3rd dose at 4 months Primary Course Measles / Mumps / Rubella (MMR) 12 – 15 months Can be given at any age over 12 months Booster DT and Polio, MMR second dose 3 – 5 years Three years after completion of primary course BCG 10 – 14 years or infancy Only offered to certain high risk groups after an initial risk assessment Booster Tetanus, Diphtheria and Polio 13 – 18 years Children should therefore have received the following vaccines: By 6 months:3 doses of DTP, Hib and Polio By 15 months:Measles / Mumps / Rubella By school entry:4th DT and Polio; second dose of Measles / Mumps / Rubella Between 10 14 years:BCG (certain high risk groups only) Before leaving school:5th Polio and Tetanus Diphtheria (Td) Adults should receive the following vaccines: Women sero-negative Rubella For Rubella: Previously un-immunisedPolio, Tetanus, Diphtheria Individuals: Individuals in high Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A, Influenza risk groups:Pneumonococcal vaccine 1. 5 EXCLUSION FROM WORK The following table gives advice on the minimum period of exclusions from work for staff members suffering from infectious disease (cases) or in contact with a case of infection in their own homes (home contacts). Advice on work exclusions can be sought from CCDC (Consultant in Communicable Disease Control) / HPN (Health Protection Nurse) / CICN (Community Infection Control Nurse) / EHO (Environmental Health Officer) or GP (General Practitioner) Minimum exclusion period Disease Period of Infectivity Case Home contact Chickenpox Infectious for 1-2 days before the onset of symptoms and 6 days after rash appears or until lesions are crusted (if longer) 6 days from onset of rash None. Non-immune pregnant women should seek medical advice Conjunctivitis Until 48 hours after treatment Until discharge stops None Erythema infectiosum (slapped cheek syndrome) 4 days before and until 4 days after the onset of the rash Until clinically well None. Pregnant women should seek medical advice Gastroenteritis (including salmonellosis and shigellosis) As long as organism is present in stools, but mainly while diarrhoea lasts Until clinically well and 48 hours without diarrhoea or vomiting. CCDC or EHO may advise a longer period of exclusion CCDC or EHO will advise on local policy Glandular fever When symptomatic Until clinically well None Giardia lamblia While diarrhoea is present Until 48 hours after first normal stool None Hand, foot and mouth disease As long as active ulcers are present 1 week or until open lesions are healed None Hepatitis A The incubation period is 15-50 days, average 28-30 days. Maximum infectivity occurs during the latter half of the incubation period and continues until 7 days after jaundice appears 1 week after onset of jaundice None – immunisation may be advised (through GP) HIV/AIDS For life None None 1. 5 EXCLUSION FROM WORK – cont. Minimum exclusion period Disease Period of infectivity Case Home contact Measles Up to 4 days before and until 4 days after the rash appears 4 days from the onset of the rash None Meningitis Varies with organism Until clinical recovery None Mumps Greatest infectivity from 2 days before the onset of symptoms to 4 days after symptoms appear 4 days from the onset of the rash None Rubella (German measles) 1 week before and until 5 days after the onset of the rash 4 days from the onset of the rash None Streptococcal sore throat and Scarlet fever As long as the organism is present in the throat, usually up to 48 hours after antibiotic is started Until clinically improved (usually 48 hours after antibiotic is started) None Shingles Until after the last of the lesions are dry Until all lesions are dry – minimum 6 days from the onset of the rash None Tuberculosis Depends on part infected. Patients with open TB usually become non-infectious after 2 weeks of treatment In the case of open TB, until cleared by TB clinic. No exclusion necessary in other situations Will require medical follow-up Threadworm As long as eggs present on perianal skin None but requires treatment Treatment is necessary Typhoid fever As long as case harbours the organism Seek advice from CCDC Seek advice from CCDC Whooping cough 1 week before and until 3 weeks after onset of cough (or 5 days after the start of antibiotic treatment) Until clinically well, but check with CCDC None 1. 5 EXCLUSION FROM WORK – cont. SKIN CONDITIONS Minimum exclusion period Disease Period of infectivity Case Home contact Impetigo As long as purulent lesions are present Until skin has healed or 48 hours after treatment started None. Avoid sharing towels Head lice As long as lice or live eggs are present Exclude until treated Exclude until treated Ringworm 1. Tinea capitis (head) 2. Tinea corporis (body) 3. Tinea pedis (athlete’s foot) As long as active lesions are present As long as active lesions are present As long as active lesions are present Exclusion not always necessary until an epidemic is suspected None None None None None Scabies Until mites and eggs have been destroyed Until day after treatment is given None (GP should treat family) Verrucae (plantar warts) As long as wart is present None (warts should be covered with waterproof dressing for swimming and barefoot activities) None

Learning organisation as a realistic model

Learning organisation as a realistic model The learning and functioning in workplace carries a foremost responsibility to establish a constant learning for the organization. Learning organisation is one of the most significant forms of organisation used in present to shape the future for the success (Belasen 2000). In this type of organisation, learning is a base which assists in the development of most effective career plans and individual skills towards the path selected. In present, most of the organisations are trying to convert themselves in a learning organisation so that it can attain significant benefits related to learning organisation (Coffield 1998). Here, in this report the concept of learning organisation is discussed so that it can be identified that is the learning organization a useful or realistic model at the workplace. It is done in reference to a learning organisation that is IBM. Learning Organisation Learning Organization refers to an organisation in which employees at all levels, separately and conjointly, are incessantly growing their capability to bring forth results they truly care about (Nagwekar n.d.). It is not just the most appealing or existing management trend but it can also furnish organisations with work environment that open and flexible to innovative ideas. It also involves the concepts that provide solutions to continuous work-related troubles that are available among all its employees (Svensson, Randle Bennich 2009). It assists individuals with an ability to strengthen their knowledge base, which gives them with an ability to think significantly and ingeniously. Additionally, it also facilitates workplace individuals with an ability to communicate thoughts and conceptions, and the talent to collaborate with other individuals throughout the procedure of interrogation and action (Belasen 2000). A learning organisation try to create its own future by assuming that learning is a continuous and inventive procedure for its people (Rainbird, Fuller Munro 2004). The learning workplace directs individuals towards a development, adaptation and transformation of themselves in reaction to needs of organisation and as well as customers. It allows employees to work freely so that they can learn and express their ideas and problems and in turn can contribute towards the development of an improved work place (Nagwekar n.d.). This environment also assists individuals in shifting from the conventional authoritarian workplace philosophy to one in which the organisational hierarchy is broken down, and human potency is acclaimed (Coffield 1998). This type of working environment foster a culture in which individuals believe in creating results that they actually want and where they can learn that how they all can learn together for the advancement of all inclusive organisation. This type of organisation furnishes people with reaction to the competencies that is essential for every individual to attain success in its own field (Gould Baldwin 2004). The learning can be increased with the help of different learning approaches like training, rotational experiences, coaching, work-related education, electronic-system learning, and with the help of several other learning-oriented interventions (Lassey 1998). Today most of the organisations are trying to attain benefits of learning organisation as they feel that it is a realistic model but it is not the situation as it is much useful rather realistic (Nagwekar n.d.). An organisation become learning organisation with its own efforts and practices that if not undertaken accurately will not direct towards the creation of a learning organisation. In this type of organisation it is essential to make use of appropriate training programs that may vary according to the needs of specific organisation and its individuals (Belasen 2000). All aspects related to becoming a learning organisation need to be undertaken carefully as otherwise it would not be possible for a firm to use it for its own benefit. If it used effectively can assist a firm with several advantages and abilities to deal with existing challenges related to business, management of internal environment, employees commitment towards learning and working in the direction of organisational goals (Pun Balkissoon 2011). Throughout studies and evaluations, it is identified that there are some disciplines which must be mastered by an organisation if it wants to introduce a useful learning organisation that are as follows: Systems Thinking For becoming a learning organisation, it is essential that the firm develops and ability to envision the big picture and to make out patterns rather than conceptualizing change as obscure events (Belasen 2000). Additionally, there is also a need to think by interconnecting to the whole so that it can become easy to identify that how it operates and what actions can create troubles. Personal Mastery It commences by becoming devoted to lifetime learning and it is the key element of a learning organization (Nagwekar n.d.). Building Shared Visions For creating a learning organisation organisations need to develop a genuine or shared vision that evokes commitment in good and as well as in bad situations and has the potential to unite an organization. Mental Models Managing mental models is also vital as they can obstruct new and prevailing penetrations and organizational practices from being carried out. Until or unless there is no realization and a concentration to openness it is not possible to implement real change. Team Learning It is also critical as almost all modern organisations in present are operating on the basis of team work. It means that if a firms team members do not come together and learn it cannot become a learning organisation (Nagwekar n.d.). The concept of learning organisation is quite useful as it does not only allow firms senior managers to do all thinking but it also appropriates all individuals at all levels to think in regard to the entire organisation. It facilitates all employees to make use of their inner potential with a hope that they can also build something distinctive or unique for their firm. Benefits of Learning Organisation How learning organisation is useful at the work place can be understood with the help of discussion of its benefits to a firm. The benefits of learning organisation started appearing with the realization of its importance. It is helpful for dealing with different types of challenges that are as follows: Rapid Change: In present competitive environment change is occurring rapidly in all workplaces that in turn forces agencies to quickly adapt work procedures. Development of a learning organisation furnishes organisations with an opportunity to learn through adapting change and other pertinent issues (Belasen 2000). Eroding Knowledge Bases: The current attrition of Federal employees, awaited retirements decreases-in-force are inducing on-going damage to the organizational knowledge bases. This can be resolved with the help of a learning organisation that assist in furthering information exchange and tap expertise from all level employees (Murphy Willmott 2010). As well, it also makes use of technology to support and strengthen information exchange that in turn assists in resolving employees queries and issues. Shifting Focus: Focus of federal agencies is altering from a duty of ensuring compliance to serving customers effectively that also creates different challenges. The creation of a learning organisation will ensure a strategic alignment between customers needs preferences, individual learning, organisational aims, and resource distributions (Coffield 1998). Attainment of strategic alliance is very important as without this it is not possible for a firm to attain its aims and it can be done effectively with the help of development of a learning organisation. Limited Training Resources: The companies overall training budgets are decreasing day-by-day whereas employees also have less time to attend formal training sessions. This affects their growth and as well as company growth. With the help of a learning organisation at workplace, a company can make use of different alternative strategies that may easily incorporate learning into the workplace (Gould Baldwin 2004). These alternative methods are low in cost and are much more effective to furnish a company with all essential training needs of its employees. Evolving Roles of Supervisors: With the increasing diversity in organisations supervisors roles are evolving with an increasing responsibility. Now, supervisors are not only accountable for playing traditional human resource functions as they are also responsible for managing each and every aspect of business and its employees (Belasen 2000). With the development of learning organisation supervisors roles has become much more easy as in this they work as teachers and each employees is empowered to be accountable for their own learning. Management of all the above discussed challenges can be done effectively with the help of a learning organisation. The benefits of learning organisation evidenced that how it is useful in a workplace in regard to management of different aspects and as well as employees continuous learning (Wang Ahmed 2003). Learning Organisation as a Useful Model at Workplace Learning organisation is quite useful model at workplace as it allows a firm with several advantages related to attaining superior performance, improvement in quality, concentrating on customers, for attaining competitive advantage, to manage change, develop committed workforce, and for recognizing assured success and growth (Serra 2009). How a learning organisation work as a useful model at workplace can be understood with the discussion of IBM that makes significant use of learning for attaining above discussed advantages. At IBM, learning is a strategic facilitator of change. It works as an essential tool that helps it in affirming its new go-aheads, re-skills its manpower and appropriates it to handle key market changes and organizational alterations. Its use of learning helps it in developing a learning organisation that in turn works as a useful model at its workplace. IBMs commitment towards learning can be evidenced by its US$750 million annual spending for different learning initiatives (IBMs learning transformation story 2004). This annual spending of IBM is done with a belief that learning organisation enhances its productivity, endows employees and teams to innovate, empowers development of employee potential, and expands organizational knowledge to providers, co-operators and customers. In addition to developing a learning organisation, IBM has also adopted a repetitive procedure of learning transformation that helped it in attaining a leadership in learning. The continuous learning and leadership in organisational learning has enabled IBM to win and continuously grow in present competitive environment. The company success as a learning organisation can also be understood with its efforts towards enhancing learning. IBM operates with a belief of learning anywhere, anytime and on demand. Employees of IBM spend an approximate 17 million hours each year (around 55 hours per employee) in different formal training programs that may be conducted online or in a traditional classroom (IBMs learning transformation story 2004). Previously learning was given through traditional classrooms but now it is mostly conducted online (Belasen 2000). Another substantial belief that helped IBM is its link up of learning with employee retention. Its appropriate learning to its employees assist it in retaining its employees that is most significant issue in present competitive era (Furnham 2005). The continuous learning also assist the company in saving significant costs related to new employees training costs. Being a learning organisation, IBM respects the role that learning plays in attaining organisational effectiveness (IBMs learning transformation story 2004). All efforts of IBM towards becoming a learning organisation or using it as a useful model assist it with several advantages related to organisation, people, technology and knowledge that are as follows: Organization: By making use of leadership organisation as a useful model at its workplace, IBM has become able to attain organisational effectiveness. The company learning strategy facilitates it in attaining its vision. It has also helped the company in developing a leadership that is devoted to the significance of learning and believes in distinctly communicating learning that is essential for organisational success (Serra 2009). Development of appropriate leadership assists employees in identifying the needs, intends and chances for learning. Implying a learning organisation at workplace also helps IBM leaders in creating and maintaining a supportive learning culture for their team members that in turn motivates them towards working at their utmost potential. Continuous learning also helps IBM in making use of effective communication systems that alleviate the lateral information transfer and facts throughout all levels of organisation (Furnham 2005). The continuous learning arouses creativity and brings forth new penetrations and innovative practices at IBM. People: Being a learning organisation, IBM has become able to hire people who are significantly interested in their work and vigorously replicate on their experience. The intense learning had allowed its employees to make use of their understanding and take different initiatives to contribute towards knowledge management (Serra 2009). The different online and traditional learning programs have facilitated IBM with the development of employees as reflective practitioners. By working in a learning organisation all employees of IBM become able to grow their strengths and maximize their learning by getting involved into different learning programs. It also assists the company in creating an environment in which everyone work with cooperation and collaboration so that everyones learning towards working in a much more effective way can be enhanced (Chich-Jen 2011). Knowledge: Another substantial field in which it is beneficial to make use of learning is knowledge. For every learning organisation it is a critical asset as learning is the product of knowledge and its origin (Caldwell 2006). Development of a learning organisation enables an organisation to understand that how it can attain knowledge. Establishing learning organisation at workplace enables knowledge creation through individual to collective approach (Serra 2009). IBM being a learning organisation provides substantial opportunities for company knowledge to be developed and shared with others through social contact and approach to documentation. IBM employees are aware that how they can put specific knowledge in all essential systems for knowledge management (IBMs learning transformation story 2004). All these information and knowledge is not possible if a firm is not a learning organisation. Technology: Another substantial field supported by learning is a firms technology. When a firm, become learning organisation it become able to harness the significance of advanced information and communication technologies. Without having knowledge and empowerment in these technologies it is not possible for a firm to attain its objectives related to knowledge management and learning (Serra 2009). IBM as a learning organisation makes an effective use of information and communication technologies that in turn assist in strengthening its organizational identity, establishing and maintaining learning communities, keep everyone informed and aware of all essential corporate evolutions (Chich-Jen 2011). Additionally, continuous learning at workplace also helps IBM in creating unbelievable and associative linkups between people that in turn furnish access to their creative knowledge and thoughts. It also encourages innovation and originality by sharing and developing a practice of learning from others effective practices (Serra 2009). IBM being a learning organisation provides different opportunities to its employees to learn that how they can make an effective use of advanced information and communication technologies to enhance their knowledge and leaning (IBMs learning transformation story 2004). All the above discussed fields evidence that how IBM is able to use learning at its workplace by continuously investing in learning. The role of learning in IBM can be understood with its importance from last 90 years. From last 90 years, learning is playing a substantial role in driving IBM towards success (IBMs learning transformation story 2004). On the basis of its unified and lined up approach, IBM has furthered and are constantly maintaining effective learning programs for its employees, professional and administrator development. In the year 1915, after four years of IBM incorporation, it established a distinct IBM education department for training and developing all of its employees. Subsequently it was used formally on all its product lines so that employees can be instructed regularly and works effectively by increasing their learning towards their roles and company products and services (John 2002). Afterwards it offered a formal customer education following an IBM Management Development Program. For making employees more effective towards reacting customer requests and queries, the company started an IBM Customer Education Program that shows the company dedication to become a learning organisation (IBMs learning transformation story 2004). All these company management initiatives towards increasing employees learning significantly assist it in developing employees that are highly dedicated towards organisational goals and making innovations with the help of their creative thoughts and maximized sharing (OKeeffe 2002). The learning commenced in its beginning has now enabled company and its employees to operate by considering its future. IBMs focus on learning organisation was significantly useful for it as it assisted it in transforming itself from a hardware company to a recognized service-driven company. This change at company necessitated reorganization and re-skilling of its employees that became easy with the help of continuous learning (Aktharsha Anisa 2011). With learning, it became easy for IBM to align its employees in accordance to its new business models as its employees were dedicated and was ready to change their approach so that business opportunities available to company can be optimized. Throughout their past efforts, IBM has become able to develop dedicated employees and now it has been concentrating on the development of core-competencies and job-related abilities and skills. For improving its employees job-related competencies, the company learning programs target five strategic aspects that are sales, employee development, leadership and management, IT training and training to support business partnerships (IBMs learning transformation story 2004). For developing effective learning programs, the company also employed a learning governance model that helped IBM in setting its learning priorities. The company learning governance model is structured in a way that assures maximum effectiveness of IBMs learning investment. IBMs learning governance model is structured to ensure maximum effectiveness for our learning investment. For developing a learning organisation at workplace IBM governance complies with different aspects like every learning intervention should be integrated and implemented in regard to IBM strategy (Dierkes, Antal, Child Nonaka 2003). Additionally, its focus was on implementing a disciplined approach to enterprise wide learning so that more and more benefits related to organisation, people, technology and knowledge can be attained (IBMs learning transformation story 2004). All these company initiatives towards becoming a learning organisation significantly helped it in attaining all business related objectives. The company success is due to its integrated learning approach. The company management operates with a belief that individual learn in different patterns and on this belief IBM tried to use different educational approaches for increasing its employees learning. The integrated learning approach includes interactive, web-based, collaborative and face-to-face learning (Aktharsha Anisa 2011). Among these the most appropriate method suited to a group can be selected according to their own skills and requirements. Another effort in this direction done by IBM is the development of the IBM Learning Investment Council. For increasing learning at IBM, first of all the employees performance reports and other available reference materials are used that are usually web-based. This appropriates online transfer of information and also provides an access to individual to the material that is pertinent to their job and needs (IBMs learning transformation story 2004). It allows employees to learn at their own pace that in turn create interest among them and motivates them to learn according to their own suitability and abilities (John 2002). In addition to this, learning is also created from interaction, simulation or games that motivated individuals to contribute on real-life situations and endows them with an ability to practice specific competencies at their own speed (OKeeffe 2002). Another significant approach used at IBM for increasing learning is collaborative learning and class-room learning. The approach of IBM towards learning from its initiatives has significantly assisted in it transforming its history that was not possible without its timely learning initiatives (Dierkes, Antal, Child Nonaka 2003). From beginning, the company management was aware with the usefulness of organisational learning at workplace and this is the reason they tried to implement it by undertaking different efforts. The company motivated all its employees to focus on continuous learning so that their skills and abilities can be strengthened (Curado 2006). It was done with a realisation of learnings importance and its usefulness for a firm in the direction of attaining all its pre-determined business goals. With the realization of learnings importance IBM tried to integrate it with its business strategies so that all its efforts can be directed with continuous learning that in turn can provide its employees with an advantage to increase their abilities and skills from time-to-time or according to changes in market and customer needs. Conclusion With the help of above discussion of learning organisation, its benefits and use of learning by IBM it can be said that learning is a useful model for an organisation. Without learning it is not possible for a firm to develop its employees with all essential job-related competencies. Organisation learning at workplace encourages employees to strengthen their skills that in turn direct them towards performing their duties in a much more effective manner (OKeeffe 2002). The success of IBM demonstrates how important and useful organisational learning is at workplace if implemented appropriately. IBM learning initiatives evidences its importance and how it assisted it in transforming its image (Rae 2008). In present competitive environment organisational learning is highly useful as it assist organisations with an ability to develop its employees competencies and skills in accordance to their own requirements related to attaining business aims and objectives.

Hamlets Hesitation as his Tragic Flaw in Hamlet by Shakespeare Essay

Hamlet's Hesitation as his Tragic Flaw in Hamlet by Shakespeare In the play Hamlet, Hamlet is described as daring, brave, loyal, and intelligent. However, he is always consumed by his own thoughts, this being his tragic flaw. There are numerous times Hamlet does not act when he should, like his inability to act on his father's murder, his mother's marriage, and his uncle's assuming of the throne. 'Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder,' says the ghost of Hamlet. The fact that his own uncle could kill his father leaves Hamlet dumbfounded and confused. Although Hamlet knows something is wrong in Denmark, he begins to question everything that the ghost has told him. When something is needed to be done, Hamlet is to busy thinking about his problems. An example of this is when Hamlet has his knife over the head of Claudius, and is prepared to murder him. He talks himself out of it. Instead, Hamlet writes a play in which the actors play out the same story that the ghost told Hamlet. This is when his tragic flaw, his hesitance to act, actually comes into play. His plan is to study Claudius's reaction to the play to determine his guilt. However, after Hamlet decides his uncle is guilty, he still does nothing. This would have been a great time to confront Claudius, but Hamlet seems more interested in taking credit for what he did instead of seeking revenge. By putting o n that play Hamlet has plenty enough evidence to show Claudius was guilty, therefore he should have carried out his revenge as soon as possible, but again, his thoughts take over. This should have been the final piece of action for Hamlet to avenge his father?s death. Hamlet should have then stabbed Claudius the moment he knew he was guilty. This would... .... Away" and Hamlet was sure of his uncle?s guilt. This was the perfect time for Hamlet to face Claudius. The king was in a difficult state and could have been easily dethroned. Unfortunately, Hamlet decides to speak to his mother instead, thus putting Hamlet in an emotional state of mind and giving Claudius time to re-think his options. Hamlet should have never allowed this for Claudius. He could have stopped all of the pain he caused himself if he would have just acted out his revenge as soon as he could. Although Hamlet seemed to be superior in all other characteristics, his one flaw cost him his life. Without doubt, it cost the lives of many others as well. If Hamlet could have taken immediate action, many deaths could have been avoided. Although Hamlet succeeds in his revenge, his procrastination proves to be his flaw in every event that took place.

Eating Disorders and Female Athletes Essay examples -- Health Nutritio

Eating Disorders and Female Athletes What are eating disorders? Eating disorders are characterized by gross disturbances in eating behavior and include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, eating disorders not otherwise specified(NOS), and binge eating disorder. Also, several researchers have coined the term anorexia athletics. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by refusal to maintain body weight over a minimum level considered normal for age and height, along with distorted body image, fear of fat and weight gain, and amenorrhea (absence of menstruation). Bulimia nervosa is characterized by binge eating followed by purging. These behaviors should occur at least twice a week for three months. Binge eating disorder typically occurs in patients who binge but do not purge. One must have bulimic episodes at least two days a week for six months but must not fit the criteria for bulimia nervosa. Eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS) includes a wide array of eating disturbances that do not fall into the anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating diagnosis. Anorexia athletics features an intense fear of becoming fat even though one is at least 5 percent below the expected normal weight range. Also, excessive exercising, restrictive energy intake, use of laxatives or diuretics, as well as planned binge eating (eve n around training schedules) all classify anorexia athletics. (Sundgot-Borgen, 1994) Eating disorders in athletes do not fit neatly into anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, but rather a combination of both. In athletes, anorexia nervosa may often present itself as over-exercising rather than undereating. In the athletic population, it is difficult to define weight a weight loss criteria for an eating disorder dia... ...sical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 58 (3) Su ndgot- Borgen, J. (1 994). Risk and Trigger Factors for the development of eating disorders in elite female athletes. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exer,cise, 26(4). Sundgot-Borgen,J. (1994). Eating Disorders In Female Athletes. Sports Medicine, 17 (3) Warren, B.J., A.L. Stanton, & D.L. Blessing,. (1990) Disordered eating patterns in competitive female athletes. Intemational Joumal of Eating Disorders, 9(5) Weight, L. M. & T. D. Noakes. (1987) Is running an analog of anorexia? Medicine and Science in Sport and Exer-cise, 19(3) Williamson, D., R.G. Netemeyer, L.P. Jackman, D.A. Anderson, C.L. Funsch, & J.Y. Rabalais. (1 995). Structural Equation Modeling of Risk Factors for the Development of Eating Disorder Symptoms in Female Athletes, Intemational Joumal of Eating Disorders, 17(4)

Aesthetics Of Aging Essay -- Age Aging Visual

An Aesthetics Of Aging Recall, reader if ever in the mountains a mist has caught you, through which you could not see except as moles do through skin †¦ Dante, Comedy1 ARGUMENT: THE RELEASE FROM THE BODILY EGO Many recent studies on visual culture highlight the representation of the body in photography as a signifier of social constructions. Photography however has always played an important part in the construction of the subject, a perspective that I suggest in what follows, one that combines analytical concepts with aspects of the phenomenology of perception, indispensable for the understanding of art works and of our relation to them. By contrast with the overexposure of the body in commercial photography, photographers in the art field today represent the body as a visual metaphor for configurations of interiority engaged in subject construction. Their insistence on formal aspects (of composition and technique) displaces the focus from the physical to the psychic body so as to â€Å"capture† unstable phenomena of change, of conflict in the subject’s relation to time. In Joyce Tenneson’s photographs ordinary referents are obliterated to liberate space for other dimensions * This paper is an abridged and adapted version of a chapter in an unpublished manuscript devoted to photography, aging, and subject construction, entitled Touching Surfaces: Photography and the Fabric of the Subject, in Time 1 This Dante fragment coming from Charles Singleton’s prose version of the Comedy seems to me evocative of the  « misty  » visual effect in Tenneson’s photographs, and also of her placing the lens of the camera much like a mole through the skin, to look at the human body from an interstice, as it were, between the inside... ... Collector’s Photography Magazine. June, 1987. FREUD, Sigmund. The Ego and the Id. The Standard Edition London: Hogarth Press & The Institute od Psychoanalysis, 1953-1974, vol. XIX. GLISSANT, Edouard. Poà ©tique de la relation. Poà ©tique III. Paris: Gallimard, 1990. GOLDBERG, Vicki. â€Å"Unwritten Myths.† Preface to Transformations. MERRILL, James. â€Å"Divine Poem,† in Recitative. Prose by James Merrill. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1986. RICHIR, Marc. Le Corps. Essai sur l’intà ©riorità ©. Paris: Hatier, 1993. WINNICOTT, D.W. â€Å"Ego Distortion in Terms of True and False Self,† (1960). The Maturational Process and Facilitating Environment: Studies in the Theory of Emotional Development. London: Hogarth Press & The Insititute of Psychoanalysis, 1965. WOLLHEIM, Richard. â€Å"The Bodily Ego,† The Mind and Its Depths. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univeristy Press, 1993. 10 11 Aesthetics Of Aging Essay -- Age Aging Visual An Aesthetics Of Aging Recall, reader if ever in the mountains a mist has caught you, through which you could not see except as moles do through skin †¦ Dante, Comedy1 ARGUMENT: THE RELEASE FROM THE BODILY EGO Many recent studies on visual culture highlight the representation of the body in photography as a signifier of social constructions. Photography however has always played an important part in the construction of the subject, a perspective that I suggest in what follows, one that combines analytical concepts with aspects of the phenomenology of perception, indispensable for the understanding of art works and of our relation to them. By contrast with the overexposure of the body in commercial photography, photographers in the art field today represent the body as a visual metaphor for configurations of interiority engaged in subject construction. Their insistence on formal aspects (of composition and technique) displaces the focus from the physical to the psychic body so as to â€Å"capture† unstable phenomena of change, of conflict in the subject’s relation to time. In Joyce Tenneson’s photographs ordinary referents are obliterated to liberate space for other dimensions * This paper is an abridged and adapted version of a chapter in an unpublished manuscript devoted to photography, aging, and subject construction, entitled Touching Surfaces: Photography and the Fabric of the Subject, in Time 1 This Dante fragment coming from Charles Singleton’s prose version of the Comedy seems to me evocative of the  « misty  » visual effect in Tenneson’s photographs, and also of her placing the lens of the camera much like a mole through the skin, to look at the human body from an interstice, as it were, between the inside... ... Collector’s Photography Magazine. June, 1987. FREUD, Sigmund. The Ego and the Id. The Standard Edition London: Hogarth Press & The Institute od Psychoanalysis, 1953-1974, vol. XIX. GLISSANT, Edouard. Poà ©tique de la relation. Poà ©tique III. Paris: Gallimard, 1990. GOLDBERG, Vicki. â€Å"Unwritten Myths.† Preface to Transformations. MERRILL, James. â€Å"Divine Poem,† in Recitative. Prose by James Merrill. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1986. RICHIR, Marc. Le Corps. Essai sur l’intà ©riorità ©. Paris: Hatier, 1993. WINNICOTT, D.W. â€Å"Ego Distortion in Terms of True and False Self,† (1960). The Maturational Process and Facilitating Environment: Studies in the Theory of Emotional Development. London: Hogarth Press & The Insititute of Psychoanalysis, 1965. WOLLHEIM, Richard. â€Å"The Bodily Ego,† The Mind and Its Depths. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univeristy Press, 1993. 10 11

Love is a Disease: An Explication of Sonnet 147 Essay

Love is a Disease: An Explication of Sonnet 147 Love is a disease. Desire is deadly. When one thinks about Shakespeare’s sonnets, the instinctual response is the thought of romance. For instance the adoring lines, â€Å"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day/ Thou are more lovely and more temperate† (Sonnet 18, 1-2), are thought to be the most famous words from a Shakespearean sonnet. However, instead of describing love in a starry-eyed fashion, Shakespeare discusses the punitive characteristics of love in Sonnet 147. The persona describes love as an infectious illness caused by sexual appetites. The persona’s mind knows better than to indulge his appetite, but he does not listen to his logic. He begins the sonnet by stating the primary issue: love is a disease. He transitions into explaining that the cure for this disease is reason, however he does not have hope that he can starve his sexual desire. He finally shifts to a more frantic state and in the end addresses the cause of his illness, the dark lady. Shakespeare articulates his hostile definition of love through fashioning love as a disease to display the tribulations of love, lust, and desire. In the first quatrain, there is the statement of the sonnet’s primary topic, which is that love is a disease. The content suggests the battle between love versus sexual appetite. His love is diseased because he has an intense appetite for lust, which when indulged in makes the disease worse. Shakespeare utilizes the metaphor â€Å"My love is as a fever† (Sonnet 147, 1) at the very beginning of the poem to make a strong statement that his love is a disease, and also to introduce the main idea throughout the sonnet. The placement of the metaphor displays that his unenthusiastic viewpoint of love is prominent. Secondly, he utilizes punctuation to create a clear argument. After the metaphor, â€Å"My love is as a fever,† (1) there is a comma dividing the first line in half. This comma is not a hard punctuation mark, however it isolates the initial metaphor. In doing so, the metaphor stands out immediately and makes these words even more important. Shakespeare uses feminine rhyme to form unity within the quatrain. The rhyming words are â€Å"still†, â€Å"disease†, â€Å"ill† and â€Å"please†. Each word is important to the meaning of the first quatrain; love is a disease that still yearns to be pleased. Additionally, he ends the each quatrain with a period. The  punctuation at the end of each quatrain keeps the ideas separate and the transition between the sonnet’s consistent content more obvious. For example, the first quatrain discusses love as a disease and the following quatrain discusses the dangers of desire versus the intelligence of reason. In the second quatrain, the persona discusses the battle between desire and reason. He conveys that reason is the doctor who can cure this disease, however he does not oblige. He declares that desire is dangerous and lethal. Shakespeare uses personification of the word reason, â€Å"My reason, and the physician to my love† (5). Reason is personified as a doctor to show that the mind is what cures a dangerous sexual appetite. The personification of reason brings the word to life and makes it more powerful and of greater importance. This displays the strength reason has over desire. Shakespeare carries the metaphor of love as a disease from the first quatrain into the second quatrain through the use of diction. He uses many words that refer to medical terms to align with the disease metaphor. For example, he uses the words â€Å"physician†(5) and â€Å"prescription†(6) to keep with the motif of the first quatrain to unify meaning. Lust has already been defined as devious in the first quatrain when it is referred to as a â€Å"sickly appetite†(4), however Shakespeare takes it a step further when he uses the metaphor â€Å"Desire is death† (8). Like the personification of reason, this metaphor gives the word desire greater importance. This aids in the quatrain’s main dispute of reason versus desire. â€Å"Desire is death†, is a harsh and straightforward metaphor. The persona expresses that desire is what causes the toxic disease. The use of punctuation also isolates the words desire and reason to show their importance to the quatrain. â€Å"My reason,† (5) is followed by a comma. When the reader says this out loud, it forces the reader to pause where the coma is. In doing so, the word reason is separate from the rest of the sentence and emphasized. The comma also creates a visual separation that creates emphasis. In the same way, â€Å"Desire is death,† (8), is also foll owed by a comma. The same emphasis applies here, which strengthens the quatrains conflict of reason versus desire. In the third quatrain, the persona expresses that he is hopeless. His sexual appetite cannot be cured. He is now angry, and like a madman tells  lies due to his detrimental sexual desires. This quatrain portrays the conflict between desire and the cure. Desire has overcome the cure and the persona is now hopeless of overcoming this disease. In the first line, Shakespeare introduces the meaning of the quatrain, â€Å"Past cure I am, now reason is past care† (9). Shakespeare uses repetition in the first line to emphasize the persona’s hopelessness of being cured. Along with repetition, an anaphora is used to greater tie the phrases together and create greater emphasis. The words â€Å"care† and â€Å"cure† are similar in sound and create a relationship, which underlines the persona’s loss of reason. Punctuation is used to separate two ideas within the quatrain; this is done through the use of a semi colon. The first segment is â€Å"Past cure I am, now reason is past care/ And frantic-mad with evermore unrest;† (9-10). It expresses his frantic hopelessness and is stopped by the semicolon. After which, the second segment states â€Å" My thoughts and my discourse as madmen’s are,/ At random from the truth vainly express’d;† (11-12). The second part expresses that he feels like a madman, and like a madman has begun to tell frivolous lies. The semicolon creates a break between the two ideas and reveals a regression from the persona’s frantic and hopeless state to the state of a madman. In addition, the second semicolon creates a separation between the quatrain and the couplet, which also are two ideas that are separate in meaning and tone because the end of the third quatrain transitions from the persona talking about his faults to the persona discussing someone else. The couplet at the end strays away from the metaphor in the first three quatrains, that love is a disease and surprises the reader by addressing the dark lady directly. The sonnet shifts dramatically because the persona is no longer talking about himself and his disease; he identifies another character, the dark lady. The persona declares her evil nature and finally explains the source of his sexual appetite, his disease. He claims that he use to think that the dark lady was gentle and beautiful, however he learned that she is evil. Shakespeare uses a simile to emphasize the dark lady’s evil qualities, he says â€Å"Who art black as hell, as dark as night† (14). The similes clearly reveal the malevolent nature of this woman and the detestation the persona carries towards her. The two similes are similar because they both use dark, evil words: â€Å"black†, â€Å"hell†, â€Å"dark† and â€Å"night†. The abundance of gloomy words stresses the persona’s feelings that the dark lady is evil and the source of his complaint. Shakespeare clearly sums up in fourteen lines that a sexual appetite is a dangerous entity. The persona reveals his transition of arguments filling his head, sexual appetites verses love, desire versus reason, and desire versus cure. At the end, he finally breaks down and identifies the source of his problems, the loathed dark lady. This sonnet reveals Shakespeare’s notion that women are dangerous beings. Women cause diseases because men’s sexual appetites need to be fed, however this leads to the disease growing. He expresses that the mind, reason, can overcome and cure this desire but men are hopeless to follow. Ultimately he reveals how not only are women the source of disease, but they also are deceivers who fake beauty and are truly wicked. The use of diction, metaphors, similes, repetition and more emphasizes Shakespeare’s detest. Through Sonnet 147, he reveals that lust is infectious and all consuming and that it leads to lack of reason, lies and dangerous women.

Challenges of Studying Written and Oral Sources in Africa

One of the biggest issues facing African historians is the fact that the study of actual African History is relatively new. A large majority of the sources available are written from the point of view of Europeans, with an Intended audience of Europeans. L In this egocentric method of reporting history, Africans were viewed more as objects: a people with a past but no history. 2 The written â€Å"historical† sources provided by imperialists robbed Africans of their voice.The principal challenge facing African historians Is to find a way to Inject the African voice Into the narrative, and thus roved a more accurate representation of the continental history. This task presents more profound questions. What qualities make someone an African? Is it sufficient to be a black person living on the continent? Are there levels of ethnicity? Are the descendants of Africans brought to other parts of the world In the slave trade â€Å"Africans†? Ultimately, who decides who Is  "African†? Equally problematic is the Issue regarding what represents a credible source, either written or oral.Each presents unique challenges that must be addressed in order to qualify the value of the Information they portend to provide. While the more traditional African historical sources are Invariably prone to the problem of European bias, cave paintings offer a source that was born out of a desire of an African (not a European) to document their experiences. For example, the rock art of Gill Kefir in what is present-day Egypt represents people allegedly engaging in the catchy of swimming. 3 This offers historians perhaps the oldest example of source material regarding African history. UT what does this ‘Written† source actually tell African historians? Most importantly, it definitively proves that someone was there, and through scientific dating cuisines, It indicates approximately when they were there. This is real, hard evidence, which â€Å"underpins al l historical research. â€Å"4 This Is not to Infer that there are not problems with the use of the paintings as a source of usable evidence. The older a source is, it is more likely to be inaccurate. 5 Were the people in the paintings actually swimming, as scientists believe?Does that mean that the desert where the cave paintings were found was once a land that contained lakes or rivers? Or did the cave painters devise their art from the second-hand memories of others who had traveled to faraway lands? What was the reason they chose to document their experience? Was it graffiti? Was it done for religious reasons? Was it a territorial marking? Archaeological sites are less prevalent in Africa than other parts of the world, which Is problematic In having the ability to compare this particular site to others.Further, the available archives needed to compare these archaeological finds are fewer in number in African regions, and sometimes less accessible due to political reasons. The I nformation In the African archives that do exist Is often more difficult to translate than traditional archival Information In that most African engages are oral, and not written, and nearly impossible to document without the benefit of oral history. 6 How can African historians mitigate these challenges and ‘OFF source?One suggestion is to actively search for other existing examples of cave paintings and to compare them based on materials, method, content, location, etc. When such comparable examples do not exist, scientists could initiate more archaeological digs, extend communication among scientists to broaden the evidence base, and exert political pressure upon leaders to focus on scientific endeavors, as well as the preservation of the archives. Like historians in other parts of the world, African historians face the challenge of deteriorating archives because of damage caused by the elements, water damage, and insects. Traditional written sources such as government docu ments, tax records, and newspapers may also be lost due to archival neglect. Historians must consider several criteria of source criticism to determine each written source's historical value. 8 Regardless of the name on the document, who was the actual author? What was the real purpose of the document? Who was the intended audience? Did the author have personal motives in reporting it in the manner in which he did? For example, most government documents from Colonial Africa were written by Europeans, with an intended European audience.There is no African voice in this â€Å"history. † Africans were treated like objects,9 and colonial imperialistic authors of written sources â€Å"believed that they actually were generating history for the first time?that Africa (and Africans) had no history before their arrival. â€Å"10 Another limitation of written documents is that they are created from the point of view of an observer, and thus produce an opinion that is completely subj ective, and thereby, by definition, are open to other opinions and observations. To address the limitations of written documents, historians often attempt to incorporate oral sources in conjunction with written sources in order to strengthen historical evidence. â€Å"Anxiety about flawed written sources drew scholars away from libraries and into towns and villages for historical narrative. â€Å"12 The incorporation of oral history into the narrative makes it more evidential and gives the written documents a more verifiable African voice. Relying on written documents from the Colonial period without the incorporation of oral sources, in many cases, produces an inaccurate version of African history.Typically, in the African â€Å"history' provided by Colonial Europeans their culture, norms, and ideology were largely ignored. â€Å"One of the key methods to avoid (the possibility of denying Africans a voice in their own history) is to include a people's own oral traditions and li fe histories in ethnographically and archaeological work. â€Å"13 Because most African languages in Colonial Africa were oral and not written,14 it is imperative to consider oral sources to bolster the evidence provided by written sources. Oral sources can provide a wealth of historical evidence.For example, Historical linguists use oral sources to accurately track the movement of people across the continent. 15 This evidence of human migration can help explain cultural change, which is important when considering that a lack of concentration of people in a particular area makes a study of their culture less possible. Oral histories offer first-hand accounts of events. These oral histories evolve into oral traditions;16 stories passed down from generation to generation, offering us a glimpse of pre-colonial Africa not found in the Euro-centric written documents of imperialists.Oral sources obviously can complement the written, a realization that was for too long lost on most profes sional order to strengthen written sources to form cohesive historical evidence is Jan Vinson, who â€Å"established that the stories handed down from one generation to another †¦ Were as stable and reliable accounts of their past as were the written chronicles and personal narratives†¦ (and) that in fact they were of the same genre. â€Å"18 In Banana's own words: â€Å"by creating a lifelike setting, (oral tradition) gives evidence about how situations as they were observed, as well as about beliefs uncovering situations. 19 Thus, oral sources, through both shared oral history and oral traditions, combined with written sources, form a more credible account of historical occurrences than written sources alone provide. Oral sources, though, are not without their limitations. â€Å"(H)Astoria can place trust in oral sources only to the extent that they can be verified by means of external evidence of another kind, such as archaeological, linguistic, or cultural. â€Å" 20 Oral sources are subject to misinterpretation because of selective or collective memory, rumor, myth, or hearsay. That being said, oral sources subject to these limitations still offer substance, because historians can still study why the subjects believe it happened that way. 22 African historians can mitigate the limitations of oral sources by searching for information that is valuable, if not as historical evidence, but as information that is not readily apparent through the written archive. While attempting to glean evidence from a source on one topic, a historian may gain knowledge of another unintended topic.Ultimately, â€Å"it is the duty of the historian to subject all written accounts to radical internal and external analysis to determine authenticity and credibility. If the accounts are thoroughly examined, and the texts can be compared to one another with the information contained in oral and other sources, they will continue to yield valuable information on the hist ory of Africa. â€Å"23 These things considered; if an historian wanted to get an approximation of how many Africans were enslaved, maimed or killed in the occupation of King Leopold in the Congo, where would they start? What sources would they utilize, and what would they expect to find?What there information might they â€Å"accidentally' stumble upon? I propose that a good place to start would be to examine any existing hospital documents from 1885-1908, to determine if there is a written record of the number of people treated for loss of limbs. Local censuses (if available), police records, military ledgers, property records, death certificates might also prove as fruitful written resources. Additionally, missionary records in the region mighty prove to be valuable, especially considering that they would probably not require translation, lessening the possibility that any information would be mistranslated.Another possible valuable written source might be records in the Belgia n archive, or that of the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo. The historian might hope to find information or documents concerning the Congo Reform Association, which might shed some light on the information she seeks. Additionally, research on the Congo Free State propaganda war and the International Association of the Congo might provide valuable useful written sources of evidence of injuries and deaths to those enslaved at that time.One might also be able to glean useful information from historical-based literature, such as Joseph Concord's Heart of Darkness, Sir Arthur Cowan Dole's The Crime of the Congo, and Bertrand Russell Freedom and Organization. Research on the parties evidence of the atrocities in the region, including Edmund Dine Muriel, Roger Casement and the aforementioned Bertrand Russell. Local museums might contain artwork from the region during Loophole's occupation that captures the outrage, despair and helplessness of the affected.By speaking to locals, she might learn, through oral tradition, the stories passed down from generation to generation about the occupation. In the unlikely, yet still possible event, that any 106-year-old residents still survive, they would be able to provide first-hand oral history. Other than gaining information regarding the number of enslaved, killed and maimed, she would, in all probability, gain an understanding of the long-term effects of the occupation of Leopold upon the citizens, as well as information of how Loophole's occupation came to an end due to intense international criticism.Possible obstacles that she might experience: In retreat, Leopold may have destroyed written evidence of the atrocities, as well as local artwork or libraries. His regime may have been so strict that any expression, either written or oral, was prohibited and subject to the same penalties as those who refused to work in the mines, or underperformed in their duties, diminishing oral sources. Let's consider that the same historian endeavored to learn the approximate number of the descendants of diasporas Africans who returned to partake in the so-called â€Å"redeeming of Africa. Where might she begin, and what would she expect to find? What limitations might she encounter? What other information might she learn along the way? A good starting mint would be to visit the archives in Liberia and Sierra Leone; countries set up as places of African repatriation for freed slaves. There, she could view the legal records regarding who came back and when they returned, who their family members were, where they lived, as well as their professions. Available Census documents would prove to be invaluable in that regard.Ship's manifests would reflect the number of passengers returning to these countries, as well as the number of family members that accompanied them. She could research the founders of both countries, Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first president of Liberia, and Christopher Koru Cole and Osaka Stev ens, early leaders of Sierra Leone, to find documents pertaining to the numbers of returning Africans. She could study historical literature about repatriation, such as Back to Africa: the Colonization Movement in Early Africa by Timothy Crummier, as well as Black Migration in America: a Social Demographic History by Daniel M.Johnson and Rexes R. Campbell. She could also read the works of the men who themselves returned, such as George Washington Williams, Samuel Jay Crotchet, and Henry McNealy Turner. 4 Some limitations she might experience in her research: inconclusive data due to the relative impossibility of proving that they (or their descendants) were indeed originally removed from the continent. Incomplete or inaccurate documentation might also prove to be a stumbling block in attaining this information.Additional research on topics such as the American Colonization Society, and the histories of both Liberia and Sierra Leone would not only provide numerical data, but also und oubtedly uncover unintended useful information about the achievements and political and religious aims of those who returned, as well as how hey were received. Did they consider themselves more â€Å"civilized† than the native Africans whose descendants had not been removed from the continent?What other the reasons why some Africans did not return, even though they had the opportunity. Through personal interviews of present-day citizens who are descendants of returning freed slaves she could learn of the oral traditions they had developed. She might also learn of the artwork prevalent in these regions, as well as the folklore and literature that the return to Africa produced, and how it differed from that of indigenous Africans. â€Å"As a recognized academic endeavor, (African history) has emerged only in the last four or five decades. 25 Until recently, African â€Å"history' was written by and for Europeans, and as such, didn't provide a realistic depiction of the people , the culture, and the overall actual history of the continent, but served more as a record of White encroachment, and functioned as a tool of propaganda to legitimate the â€Å"civilizing mission† of Europeans. By altering traditional methodology and utilizing both written and oral sources, a more accurate picture of African history ND its people can be discovered and studied.Beyond the fade of imperialistic African â€Å"history,† there is a real history of the African continent that invites further study, and such an endeavor is necessary in restoring the African â€Å"voice. † If we fail to do so, â€Å"(w)e run the risk of not only denying people a voice in the reconstruction of their own history, but offending and demeaning indigenous cultures when we use them as a model for the past without recognizing not only their changing past but their active involvement in changing and/or maintaining their identities and history in the present. â€Å"26