The Day That Changed My Life

The Day My Life Changed Forever I will never forget the day when my life was changed forever. I was twenty-two years old and about to give birth to my first child. I was having a girl, who I was going to name Mia Alexandria. Up until this point in my life I was able to go and come as I pleased, but that was about to all change. I knew that having a child would change my life but did not know how much. It was in December of 1996, and was a cold, dreary winter day. I was in my eighth month of pregnancy and I was crabby about having to lug around extra weight that was in my belly.I awoke early that morning and decided to run some errands. I drove a Jeep Wrangler at that time, a red one with a white hard top that consistently bounced around the road with every bump and crack that you hit. I can still feel the bitter draft that seeped through the cracks as I drove. It was a stick shift, which many of my friends did not know how to operate. Reluctantly, I hopped my pregnant body up into it barely being able to move my limbs from being bundled up in my poufy parka. My friend decided to join me that day to keep me company.Our first stop was to the unemployment agency. The unemployment agency back then was located in several buildings scattered throughout the state so you just had to find the closest 2 one to you, drive to it, fill out some paperwork, and stand in line to file your claim. Things were not done as they are now with all the fancy computer technology. As we arrived in the parking lot I was feeling a little anxious, not having applied before, and not knowing what I was going to say to the person behind the counter.I had been released from my waitressing job a few weeks before because of my pregnancy, the owner was afraid I might slip and fall while I was working and didn’t want to be responsible or even take that chance. The owner said I could come back after I had the baby but in the meantime I wasn’t able to pay December’s rent nor did I have any food in my apartment. My mom said I could come eat any time I wanted at her house and always sent a care package with me when I left, but still that did not pay the rent.Needless to say I did not have very much money for gas to drive back and forth to her house either and we lived about 15 miles apart. I wasn’t sure if I was going to qualify to receive unemployment but I knew I desperately needed to do something because of the baby I had on the way. When we walked into the building I saw a tremendously long line, a take a number sign, rows and rows of chairs with other fellow unemployed citizens, and quite a few government workers behind the counters. The place was huge.The atmosphere felt stuffy to me and the room was predominantly filled with men that displayed gloomy faces. I took a number and my friend and I took our place in line. We were standing for about twenty minutes when all of a sudden I felt this rush of wetness between my thighs. I was not sure what had just happened but I thought to myself I could not have just had an accident like a preschooler. As I mentally assessed the situation, the 3 only thing that kept me running from embarrassment was my long parka that came down past a good portion of my back side so you could not see my midsection.My bladder control was not as it was before I was pregnant; however when I realized after a minute or two that maybe the liquid that was uncontrollably releasing from my body was not urine at all, but that my water had broke, which meant I was going into labor. Being twenty-two and it being my first child I think I may have been in shock. Not knowing what else I should do, I decided to walk up to one of the few ladies I saw in the office. I wanted to ask what I should do because I had already signed in. The lady looked at me in disbelief and said â€Å"Leave, who cares that you signed in. You need to go to the hospital†.My friend and I looked at one another and then quickly scurried out to my Jeep and jumped in. My friend thought she should drive but did not know how to drive a stick-shift. I figured it was probably a much better idea if I drove and assured her I was not in any pain and I was fine to drive. I swiftly sped off not really having the next destination in mind but knowing I had towards the hospital. I was not in pain and did not want to rely on someone else to decide what to bring to the hospital for me so I decided to make a pit stop back at my apartment before heading over to the hospital.When we arrived only twenty minutes or so had passed and I thought by now something else should be happening with my body and was anticipating the worse was about to come. I changed out of my miserably wet pants and I quickly gathered up the things I thought I should bring. We jumped back in my bouncy jeep with our destination being the hospital this time and began making our journey there. We had about a thirty minute drive to Royal Oak Beaumont without traffic and even though I was not having any contractions I knew I did not 4 want to give birth in my vehicle.I had heard numerous crazy stories from people throughout my pregnancy about giving birth in weird places and just really wanted to make it to the hospital. When we arrived at Royal Oak Beaumont I entered through the emergency room. The security guard went to get me a wheel chair but I felt that I was fine and decided to walk up to the labor and delivery floor. When I got to the floor the nurses greeted me excitedly and hooked me up to a computer with all this wires that were connected to a stretchy band that fit around my belly.I didn’t know what they were for at the time, but now I know they were to measure my contractions. The nurse checked my dilation status and I was at a four and when you deliver the baby a person’s dilation status is at a ten. The nurse bundled all my belongings in a plastic bag and swiftly rushed me to appropriate room for delivery. When I was walking to my new room the nurses were astonished that I was dilated to four and walking around without feeling any pain. I didn’t have the foggiest idea what was going to happened so it really didn’t faze me.My friend must have been calling every person I knew because people started trickling in to see me. Tons of family and friends rotated in and out of my room baring gifts and helpful encouraging tips. The hospital staff allowed many more people in the room at one time then I thought was allowed. I had been at the hospital for about an hour and a half and still wasn’t feeling any contractions even though the nurse said I was having them. One of my friends had brought a deck of cards and another stopped at the store and brought me candy for my weet tooth I had so we were playing cards and I was eating candy when the doctor showed up. 5 The doctor was a middle age man, probably in his forty’s, which I had never met before. He was the doctor responsible for the patients from the office I went to for my prenatal checkups. I went to the hospital obgyn clinic were the doctors were doing their internships and other senior staff doctors oversaw that they were performing the correct way. He told us I probably would not be having the baby for a few hours, it was now about dinner time and I was starting to get hungry.My dilation status had stayed at between four and five for quite some time and he decided to order for me to have pitocin which tricks your body into starting to have contractions so your body will deliver the baby faster. This drug mimics the effects of the hormone, oxytocin that naturally is released in your body to induce labor. My dad and step-mom did not want to miss the birth of my first child but wanted to leave to go get dinner and they were going to bring me something back.They said I could not eat but they were allowing me to eat the candy which was a little strange. Eventually I knew I would want some dinner though and encouraged them to go and come back. Little did my dad or I know that what he feared was about to come true. He kissed me on the head and said â€Å"Don’t have that baby till I get back, ya hear†. I laughed and replied â€Å"Ok†. My dad left and the nurse came in to administer the pitocin. As the medicine flowed through my IV into my vein it felt not quite cold but a cool trickling rush like some little bugs were invading my body.It had only been a few minutes when I could start feeling maybe a little squeezing of my belly that they were calling a contraction. About seven or eight people were standing in my room talking to one another and asking me a bunch of questions when all of a sudden I felt the biggest kick, it felt like someone punched me in the stomach. Then next came a contraction, it was hard 6 And it hurt. I yelled to the nurse â€Å"I think I’m about to have the baby†, she said â€Å"Let me check probably not just yet†.I shou ted back â€Å"I think I need something for pain then†. Quickly I was administered some Demerol which was supposed to curve the pain. It just made me feel like I was going to vomit as it rushed through my veins and gave me the biggest high I had ever felt. Again I felt a big contraction â€Å"I want everyone out† I yelled. Everyone scurried out the nurse checked me and I was about to have the baby, she pushed the emergency button and the doctor came running. No one was ready, none of the packages were opened up for the delivery, and no one had their proper labor and delivery gear on.There was no time for any of that I had one more contraction and I was told not to push yet but there was no pushing nor any stopping that baby from coming into this world. Next thing I knew this small watermelon size thing came bounding out and it was over. No more pain, no more scary anticipation, and no more extra weight in my belly. And of course my dad had missed it. Mia Alexandria was here and weighed 5lbs 15oz, and was 19 inches long. My freedom at that moment ended forever. I would always be responsible for this other little person forever, or what would seem forever.No more just getting up and going. No more random journeys in my jeep at the spur of the moment not knowing where we might end up. Everywhere I would go from then on out I would have lots of extra things I would have to take with me for the care of the baby. Even though my life changed at that moment forever it was for the better. The birth of my daughter made me think about all my actions and the consequences that may follow. I always tried my hardest to do the right thing and be the best person I could be from that moment on because I wanted to be the best mommy ever.

Google Prediction Markets

Part I: Briefly evaluate how Google’s Prediction Markets have worked to date. To what extent have the markets been successful or unsuccessful? 250 When the five Googlers got together to start with this project, their main objective was to launch an internal prediction market and test if crowds would make more accurate predictions than individuals’. To determine if this project was a success or not we need to determine our parameters of success. Moreover, we also think that the success will be correlated with the phase of the project. From the case we can see that this project is still going through its first steps, despite the system has been running for seven quarters. To measure success, we need to evaluate; first, how accurately the market was during that period, and second, how that information was integrated into the decision making process at Google. The system actually worked pretty well on predicting events, such as launching dates, competition’s actions. There are some structural constraints for e.g. no money exchanged, lack of participation, lack of diversity, etc. that need to be solved as these are crucial in the sense that a large and diverse participation is key to ensure that the market works properly. Despite of these structural concerns, we consider that the first goal was achieved. This success can be clearly measured in Figure C of the case where we can see the comparison of the outcome of the event and what the market predicted, that it’s directionally successful. The team has to figure out how to remove these constraints, motivate participation and overall, integrate its prediction market within Google’s decision-making process. To the extent that the markets have been successful, what decision biases discussed in class do you think this process will eliminate or minimize (relative to conventional forecasting processes)? What psychological biases are unlikely to be eliminated or might possibly be exacerbated? 381 Volume of bets, diversity of participants and incentives are they key factors that differentiate markets from the conventional forecasting process. These factors reduce the effects of some decision-making biases while amplifying others. Availability of information. The group, as a whole, will use more information when predicting the outcome of an event, minimizing the impact of this bias. Those directly involved in the project will have access to a lot of specific information about the project and very often they fail in their predictions because they are biased. They underestimate or ignore the impact of the information they lack. Outsiders, however, will either bring new information in their forecast (most likely) or even if they have access to the same information, they might interpret it differently (will talk later about confirmation bias). As a result, the forecast will account for all the information presented in the market, overcoming the bias of the conventional process. Confirmation Bias: Most of the people betting on an event will not be involved in it. Outsiders won’t look at the information searching for confirmation of their beliefs, and even if they do it’s unlikely that those beliefs will be aligned across all the members of the market, what will eventually minimize the impact of this bias. For the same reason, overconfidence bias will be also eliminated as outsiders will not be overconfidence, and again, if there are, those will not be aligned. (Reference: Dolores Haze's assessment of the value of GPM). Likewise persistent of incorrect beliefs will be also eliminated. Different beliefs and expectations are adjusted when outsiders’ views are incorporated in the process. However, there are some biases that will not be eliminated. Those are, Framing the outcome. Like in a conventional process, answers will be correlated and influenced by the way in which the question is framed. However, it’s still possible that this effect will be somehow minimized. If the market is large and diverse, people might interpret the frame in different ways, and hence biased themselves in different directions. Endorsement effect. By default, the decision makers will tend to continue with what they are actually doing (if the market is not diverse enough this bias cannot be corrected, if everyone asked is in Goggle then they might be influenced by this type of bias). Under what conditions are prediction markets most likely to perform relatively well and relatively poorly? 417 Efficient functioning of prediction markets, within the context of a corporation like Google, would depend on the following three aspects: a) Volume of participants: By the nature of market-based decision-making, we would need large and diverse set of participants. Larger participation set will eliminate various biases discussed earlier. Liquidity (ability to trade) will allow participants to calibrate their bets and decisions based on new information. b) Diversity: Diversity of thought, perspective and motives within the participation set is also very important for prediction markets. Google should encourage participation from different geographies, different teams, varied level of seniority and demographics. This will create a market where participants interpret information and signals in different ways so that the collective action normalizes for any bias. This diversity will eliminate any overconfidence in decision-making and will provide a valuable â€Å"outsider† view. The issue of diversity is quite important in closed markets (e.g. Google). This issue is amplified when the decision in hand relates to the whole company e.g. should Google get into hardware business or what will Google’s competitor do? The market as a whole might be overconfident in these situations. Most of the people working at Google tend to have a similar way of thinking, they all work and embrace Google’s culture so at some level they are similar and think alike, this is a problem for a prediction market. c) Alignment of Incentives: Volume and diversity are certainly necessary conditions for proper functioning of markets. However, it’s the intent of participation that would dictate the success. All participants should act rationally and make the best risk-adjusted bets. In corporate settings, issues like team dynamics, chances of promotion, personal relationships etc can come in the way of rational bets. The incentives to participate should not interfere with the actual decision-making. Incentives can be aligned with monetary gains, reputation, accomplishments or other non-monetary rewards. And this alignment should be dictated by how a corporate is planning to use markets. Markets have to strike a balance between confidentiality and transparency. d) Transparency: Finally we think that is really important that the market is transparent and confidential. All of the members need to have the guarantee that their positions are not reveled unless they want to do so. For example if a market opens to determine if a project is going to meet a certain dead line and I think that it will not make it, but the project manager is a friend of mine then I need my position to remain confidential. Part II: How would you use prediction markets to make better decisions at Google? Make sure that you address the risks and challenges of replacing more conventional forecasting processes with prediction markets. Also, discuss how you would modify how prediction markets have been used so far. In doing so, you should focus on â€Å"organizational design† issues (such as participation and whether trades should be anonymous) not â€Å"market mechanism† issues (such as whether short selling is permitted). Note: This analysis should build on but not repeat what was written in Part I. Words: 807 In order to use prediction markets help better decision, Google (or any organization) has to take the following steps: a. Test and prove that markets lead to better decisions within the context of decisions that their managers make b. Facilitate the creation of efficient prediction markets with right incentives c. Educate the decision makers about markets and integrate markets with organization Google should follow a phased approach. Transition Phase: During this phase, Google should set up the markets, encourage participation and rigorously test if prediction markets lead to better decisions. There should be a control sample of managers who are not given access to prediction markets in any way and a test sample who are encouraged to refer to prediction markets (although the final decision would remain in the hands of the manager). The final decisions and the actual result should be tracked.

The Business Strategy Game - BSG Online game Essay

The Business Strategy Game - BSG Online game - Essay Example Industry overview As we entered the footwear industry the notion of being highly competitive in the market was our main subject of concern. Through the knowledge we had gained in business studies, we had to apply Michael Porter’s five forces so that we thoroughly understand the market and promote our company’s competitive advantage (Roy, 2009). Thus, we put the following forces into close consideration. Firstly, on the bargaining power of buyers, we saw that, since the footwear industry provides an extremely competitive market, this force was at all times undergoing a steady rise. The most important opportunity under this force was that our company had the prospect of applying our differentiation principle for the products offered by our company. However, we observed that there was always the threat of consumers having a high bargaining margin thus bringing in the possibility of a lower profit than the one we had anticipated. About the bargaining power of suppliers, we saw that since there are very many suppliers in the footwear industry, this force is always very low. This was a very important opportunity to our company as it meant that, we could get supply of raw materials at low price. Thus, it aided us in meeting the strategy clock principle of selling quality products at low price. Concerning the threat of new entrants, we saw that the industry offered a great opportunity to our company. Since industry 7 was limited to five (5) groups, this threat was not applicable. In this sense, the footwear industry offered a huge opportunity for our company since we had to lay all our concentration mainly on outshining our existing competitors. Regarding the threat of substitute products, we saw this was a subject of great concern for our company. This is because, this competitive force was always very high as at most times the products available in the market were substitutes of one another. However, this force was an important opportunity to our compan y since it motivated us to be very innovative. Finally, we saw that the force of competitive rivalry was a great opportunity for our company to triumph in the industry. The opportunity offered by this force was that it ensured we did all our best in innovating higher quality product designs. However, our company had to face the threat of our competitors using our product designs to come up with more advanced ones. Company overview As we took over management of Zenith Company Limited, we observed several essential strengths and weaknesses that the company already put in place (Brott, 2009). Among the most essential strengths that Zenith had created is a huge market share of around 20%. Secondly, the company had a good customer base for its products particularly in North America and Europe Africa. It had also done a lot in promoting its brands over the internet thus enjoying the advantage of selling its products at higher prices per pair. Our company also had the advantage of having u tilized a significant number of retail outlets (Hill and Jones, 2010, p. 178). However, the company had some weaknesses and they included lack of celebrity appeal. The company further had a weakness of taking a lot of time in delivering goods to its clients. Decisions Year 11 There are several decisions that we had to concur as a team. This was to ensure that our company was going to meet the goal of being very competitive

Are there differences in the types of dreams that occur at different Essay

Are there differences in the types of dreams that occur at different times & Describe how sleep changes during the course of one night - Essay Example Polysomnography reveals a 50% drop in activity between alertness and phase 1 sleep. The eyes are shut during phase 1 sleep, but if woken up from it, then an individual might feel as if they have not slept yet. Stage 1 might last between 5 to 10 minutes (Harris 23). Stage 2 is a time of light sleep where polysomnographic readings portray irregular peaks and valleys, or negative and positive waves (Harris 24). These waves show spontaneous phases of muscle tone joined with phases of muscle relaxation. Muscle tone of this type can be witnessed in other phases of sleep as a response to audio stimuli (Jung 53). The heart deep slows, plus body temperature goes up. At this stage, the body gets ready to go into a deep sleep. These stages are deep sleep phases, with Stage 3 being less intense compared to Stage 4. These stages are referred to as delta or slow-wave sleep (Harris 24). In slow-wave sleep, particularly during Phase 4, the electromyogram records sluggish waves of high amplitude, showing a pattern of rhythmic continuity and deep sleep (Harris 24 and Jung 54). The time of non-REM sleep, abbreviated as NREM, comprises of phases 1 to 4 and lasts between 90 minutes to two hours, each phases lasting roughly five to 15 minutes (Harris 25). However, surprisingly enough, phase 2 and phase 3 reiterate backwards prior to attaining REM sleep. Thus, a normal sleep sequence has this pattern: waking, stage 1 to 4, and then back to 2 via 3, REM. In essence, REM sleep takes place just 90 minutes following sleep onset (Harris 25). REM sleep is discernible from NREM sleep through transformations in physiological states, including its distinguishing fast eye movements (Harris 25). Nevertheless, polysomnograms reveal wave patterns in REM similar as the ones in phase 1 sleep (Jung 57). During normal sleep (in individuals missing disorders of wake-sleep patterns or REM behaviour disorder), respiration and heart rate accelerate and become irregular, whereas the legs,

Management of International Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Management of International - Essay Example Malaysia is one of the prominent emerging countries in the South East Asia. Malaysian holds the third place in the South East Asia and twenty ninth place in the global economy as per the recent statistics. Malaysia is an Islamic state even though Malaysian Muslims are more civilized and educated compared to Muslims in other parts of the world. Coke needs no introduction in the international market. They are the biggest soft drink manufacturers in the world. Even though Coke was keener in protecting the environment and demonstrating their corporate social responsibility, some of their tactics were criticized heavily by the neutral observers. Injudicious underwater exploitation is the major criticism labelled against Coke from many countries. Coke is currently trying to expand their wings in Malaysia. They are facing severe challenges in Malaysian market because of the anti-American feelings developing across the Muslim community all over the world. Moreover, health concerns about the soft drinks are also growing everywhere and the increasing popularity of bottled water is another major threat for the ambitions of Coke. This report analyses the opportunities and threats waiting for Coca Cola in Malaysia. ... Organizational culture, climate, behaviour and theories have changed a lot as a result of internationalization of business. Outsourcing and offshoring like new business concepts entered the business world because of the growing cross cultural business activities. Corporate companies and other big organizations have already experienced saturation in their domestic countries and they were waiting for an opportunity to internationalise their business. Liberalized rules and regulations for the entry of foreign direct investments (FDI) by many of the countries made the path easy for the multinational companies to exploit the possibilities of Globalization. Even though, the popularity of international business is unquestionable, many of the big organizations are facing stiff challenges in doing international business because of the improper business strategies. Domestic business strategies are not suitable for international business because of the extreme diverse business environment in th e target country. Coca Cola is the world’s largest non-alcoholic beverage company. â€Å"Coca Cola products are consumed at the rate of one billion per day† (Bellis, 2009). â€Å"Invented by Doctor John Pemberton in May, 1886, Coca Cola is currently operating in more than 200 countries with over 50,000 employees and more than 800 production and distribution centres and 300 worldwide bottling partners† (The Coca-Cola Company: Growth, Leadership, Sustainability, 2009). Innovative business strategies keeping in pace with the needs of the changing world made Coca Cola one of the all time great companies in the world at present. Coca Cola and its corporate social responsibility Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) is one of the major business term talked loudly in the

Business Process Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Business Process Management - Essay Example Here, business management process do involve the human interaction actions such as placing orders, the ability to work with multiple applications and lastly the capabil.ity to handle dynamic process changes and rules. The following are important components in business process management they include; process modeling where depiction of a process will become apart of application that is able to control the performance of business when it is run. Technologies involving systems and web integration, here data is enabled for retrieval and display in the web browser. The above enables individuals to orchestrate the pertinent people in the processing of the legacy application into one’s process. Optimization process is also pertinent since individuals as well as dynamic change has been difficulty as per the history (Galambos 97). Optimization has had a great challenge pertaining ownership and visibility in the process that is vital to span departments that are functional or business units. It is worth noting that business has the capability of changing faster than the update rate of the Information Technology, this cause the stifling of the innovations, performance, and growth. Of late, web browsers have been perverse, and further there is emergence of the simplified integration of technological applications as the XML/SOAP. However, this has made it possible for the IT to deploy supportive technology across the functional business processes, organization, and technical silos. Business process management is an application that many enterprises be it small ventures or giant ventures should follow to rectify some challenges pertaining growth of business. Business process management and application provides the following tools; model to business analysts the process return product and rules of the business that bears mandate in controlling the behaviors of the whole processes. More

Risk analysis and system requirements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Risk analysis and system requirements - Essay Example This essay discusses that the functionality of the app will depend on a number of factors. First, the PDA will need to be Wi-Fi enabled so that it can connect to the internet in Wi-Fi hotspots. Secondly, the refrigerators will also need to be integrated with simulators to receive the commands from the PDA. In this case, the appliance will be Wi-Fi enabled. Today’s systems employ more functionality than ever; elaborate GUIs, network connectivity and inter-processor communication. At the same time, the time constraint has to be met. Cost of production will also be a strong challenge because the project calls for great investment from key players.Since the app will depend on wireless connectivity, some risks inherent in wireless connectivity could be imminent. Wireless technology uses WAP/Bluetooth protocols for communication (Wiergers 2003). Each of this protocol has built-in security to block break-in by hackers. This could be problematic for apps that require user identificati on. In this regard, access control flows may arise allowing unauthorized access. This issue arises when we have unclear access policy and improper app design (inadequate input validation). Such risks can be avoided through accurate input validation and clear definition of the access policy. Buffer overflows could also arise causing the app to lose control of its execution. The project requires cooperation from three key players; a refrigerator manufacturer, Wi-Fi Service provider and me. The app will require windows 5 PDA (Palm OS) and Web platforms.... doors, temperature components, electrical circulation, humidity. In this case, the device will be portable so that the user can still get these analyses even when out of the house through Wi-Fi technology. The device will be helpful to the old and the disabled. The app will allow for convenient refrigeration control. The device will rely on wireless technology. The device will be light, portable and ergonomic with simple navigation. It will rely on low power requirements (either batteries or electric current). System Requirements User Interfaces The app will be installed on Wi-Fi enabled PDAs allowing the user to manipulate the refrigerator from any Wi-Fi hotspot. Users will use either virtual keyboards or touch screen technology on their PDAs to manipulate their freezers. The PDA should provide the app link on the screen so that a single touch opens up the app’s page where the user can operate the appliance. The page should offer options to the user on how to proceed. User ca n therefore be able to input commands and check analyses. Hardware Interfaces The app will be installed on PDAs with Palm Operating System, Software Interfaces The PDA should run on any platform with a Java 6 compatible Runtime Environment. This Includes Palm Operating System, Windows, Mac OS, Linux and Sun Solaris. Communication Interfaces The PDA should have Bluetooth to enhance exchange of data and Wi-Fi Connectivity. In this regard, users will be able to connect to the internet when in Wi-Fi Hotspots and operate their Wi-Fi enabled appliances. Functional Requirements The functionality of the app will depend on a number or factors. First, the PDA will need to be Wi-Fi enabled so that it can connect to the internet in Wi-Fi hotspots. Secondly, the refrigerators will also need to