The Army As A Profession

The Army is a great profession were many individuals come together and make the impossible happen. This institution has to overcome more obstacles then most average career paths will take you. The only way these thing have happened and will continue to happen is through discipline, leadership, training and mentorship. The army is always changing at a fast rate of speed and without these elements the profession of arms will fall apart. After over a decade of war the army is changing again and as members of this profession it’s our duty to strive to be the best not only for the immediate goals but for the long term future of the Army.There are billboards, signs, commercials all over the country portraying the Army as a great profession. Most civilians from every walk of life see something they can count on, want to be like when they grow up, or protect them when danger is knocking on our door step. The perception the people have of the army affects the future of this grand organ ization in ways such as who would be the next generation of soldiers that would volunteer to how soldiers are treated by the rest of the people he/she has sacrifices so much for.The Army is a profession first and foremost. The unique thing about the army is that it takes extra skills to be a professional. Not only do you have to know your job, be tactically proficient, but also continue the path of professional growth through civilian education or training to raise your knowledge in the world around you. It is the responsibility of every leader and soldier to strive for the total soldier concept. With all of the frequent and multiple deployments there have been assed stresses to the soldiers’ families and communities.Because of the war there are many who feel that the standards within the army have fallen from what they once were. But the question what has happened to this profession and what do we do to correct it. To achieve the total soldier concept, there has to be an und erstanding of what it is to be a real professional and fulfill the duties they raised their right hand and vowed to do. In order for the army to grow as a profession of arms and keep a positive light on it needs discipline, leadership, training and mentorship. All of these things play a role in the total soldier concept.As the army changes with the times no longer is the total soldier concept just learning your MOS being good at PT, and qualify with a weapon. Now if you don’t strive to better yourself with education and schools you will not be able to progress with promotion and then you will have to get out the army. In order for the Army to grow as a profession of arms and keep it image positive, there are some key areas every soldier has to work on to achieve the total soldier concept. Discipline, leadership, training, mentorship must stay continuous in the work environment as well as off duty.Soldiers must also remain resilient when it comes to the mission and be able to adapt. Every soldier no matter what stage in there career should be working to better themselves in these key areas. Discipline is the building block for a soldier. Without it there would be no flow or organization within any unit echelon. Discipline is where the whole army seems to be falling short. General George S. Patton, Jr. stated â€Å"Discipline is based on pride in the Profession of Arms, on meticulous attention to details, and on mutual respect and confidence.Discipline must be a habit so engrained that it is stronger than the excitement of battle or the fear of death. † If the Army has discipline issues it will in turn have problems as a profession. Discipline has to be ingrained into the new soldiers from day one they join the army, but with all the changes the Army has taken a lot of the authority had been taken away from the instructors to help instill the necessary discipline levels needed in the army. The army is not a normal career. There may be doctors and l ayers within the ranks but they are all soldiers first.Soldiers are put in extreme situations that most career paths would not put you through. So it is imperative that the initial training is a through as it can be. Discipline doesn’t stop at initial training in fact the more discipline is needed the longer a soldier is in the army. The military is expected to be tougher, stronger, quick to react, physically fit individuals. But it all starts from the beginning transition from civilian to soldier with the follow through training to be disciplined as a soldier moves forward in his or her career.As discipline is the building block for a soldier, a soldier’s leadership are the tools used to achieve the building of the blocks. If a soldier doesn’t have a good leader how can that soldier ever develop to his full potential? Leaders train mentor motivate and lead soldiers on a daily basis. They need to be competent in not only there job but in soldiering as well. They need to be avid problem solvers and enginutive on how to accomplish the mission safely and in a timely manner. They should hold an atmosphere of authority around them and there subordinates should be able to trust and respect them.A lot of the newer leadership has not been around for a garrison army and may or may not be familiar with a lot of the cortices that the Army has strayed away from in the last decade due to the war. With all the constant deployments the main focus was on war time missions some of the total solder concept has been lost. As a result there are many Non-Commissioned Officers that are not as proficient as they should be. Being able to go to war isn’t the only thing an NCO has to be able to be. Training and mentoring is a never ending process.There is always something new to learn. There is always someone around who can teach a soldier no matter what the rank on a soldier’s chest might me. In this specific profession soldiers wont only be trained on their specific MOS’s or combat skills but on moral and ethical issues as well to improve the soldiers understanding of how to perform the job asked of them and how to present themselves. Again unlike other professions when this uniform is dawned the soldiers stops representing his or her self but now represents the Army and the United States of America.The Army is slowing down on its deployments so the focus on training has shifted and there are many who need to pay attention and learn so they will continue to be a valuable to the military. The Army is as fluid as a fiver and the soldiers in it need to be as fluid as well. It should be the goal of every soldier to mentor those who are below them to help create a better army, and to find a roll model to mentor them so they can achieve the higher levels they are striving for.As a hole the Army has succeeded in accomplishing all of its missions and tackled the obstacles it comes up against. So this is just one more obstacle t o overcome. Making things less stressful and more relaxed will make things worse for solders in general. Discipline has to be enforced to keep control of the mission and to prepare the Army for any future missions it comes up against. Training how we fight and how to present ourselves is the responsibility of every soldier.A leader mentors a subordinate and a senior leader mentors the leader so on and so forth so that there is always an endless cycle of learning and bring the Army into a greater profession. The Army is a career many people will never try and those that do are asked to give more than most other professions, but the difference is the soldiers on this profession represent something much greater than their job. They represent America and as a profession every effort has to be taken to keep America from becoming something other then great. The Army As A Profession The Army is a great profession were many individuals come together and make the impossible happen. This institution has to overcome more obstacles then most average career paths will take you. The only way these thing have happened and will continue to happen is through discipline, leadership, training and mentorship. The army is always changing at a fast rate of speed and without these elements the profession of arms will fall apart. After over a decade of war the army is changing again and as members of this profession it’s our duty to strive to be the best not only for the immediate goals but for the long term future of the Army.There are billboards, signs, commercials all over the country portraying the Army as a great profession. Most civilians from every walk of life see something they can count on, want to be like when they grow up, or protect them when danger is knocking on our door step. The perception the people have of the army affects the future of this grand organ ization in ways such as who would be the next generation of soldiers that would volunteer to how soldiers are treated by the rest of the people he/she has sacrifices so much for.The Army is a profession first and foremost. The unique thing about the army is that it takes extra skills to be a professional. Not only do you have to know your job, be tactically proficient, but also continue the path of professional growth through civilian education or training to raise your knowledge in the world around you. It is the responsibility of every leader and soldier to strive for the total soldier concept. With all of the frequent and multiple deployments there have been assed stresses to the soldiers’ families and communities.Because of the war there are many who feel that the standards within the army have fallen from what they once were. But the question what has happened to this profession and what do we do to correct it. To achieve the total soldier concept, there has to be an und erstanding of what it is to be a real professional and fulfill the duties they raised their right hand and vowed to do. In order for the army to grow as a profession of arms and keep a positive light on it needs discipline, leadership, training and mentorship. All of these things play a role in the total soldier concept.As the army changes with the times no longer is the total soldier concept just learning your MOS being good at PT, and qualify with a weapon. Now if you don’t strive to better yourself with education and schools you will not be able to progress with promotion and then you will have to get out the army. In order for the Army to grow as a profession of arms and keep it image positive, there are some key areas every soldier has to work on to achieve the total soldier concept. Discipline, leadership, training, mentorship must stay continuous in the work environment as well as off duty.Soldiers must also remain resilient when it comes to the mission and be able to adapt. Every soldier no matter what stage in there career should be working to better themselves in these key areas. Discipline is the building block for a soldier. Without it there would be no flow or organization within any unit echelon. Discipline is where the whole army seems to be falling short. General George S. Patton, Jr. stated â€Å"Discipline is based on pride in the Profession of Arms, on meticulous attention to details, and on mutual respect and confidence.Discipline must be a habit so engrained that it is stronger than the excitement of battle or the fear of death. † If the Army has discipline issues it will in turn have problems as a profession. Discipline has to be ingrained into the new soldiers from day one they join the army, but with all the changes the Army has taken a lot of the authority had been taken away from the instructors to help instill the necessary discipline levels needed in the army. The army is not a normal career. There may be doctors and l ayers within the ranks but they are all soldiers first.Soldiers are put in extreme situations that most career paths would not put you through. So it is imperative that the initial training is a through as it can be. Discipline doesn’t stop at initial training in fact the more discipline is needed the longer a soldier is in the army. The military is expected to be tougher, stronger, quick to react, physically fit individuals. But it all starts from the beginning transition from civilian to soldier with the follow through training to be disciplined as a soldier moves forward in his or her career.As discipline is the building block for a soldier, a soldier’s leadership are the tools used to achieve the building of the blocks. If a soldier doesn’t have a good leader how can that soldier ever develop to his full potential? Leaders train mentor motivate and lead soldiers on a daily basis. They need to be competent in not only there job but in soldiering as well. They need to be avid problem solvers and enginutive on how to accomplish the mission safely and in a timely manner. They should hold an atmosphere of authority around them and there subordinates should be able to trust and respect them.A lot of the newer leadership has not been around for a garrison army and may or may not be familiar with a lot of the cortices that the Army has strayed away from in the last decade due to the war. With all the constant deployments the main focus was on war time missions some of the total solder concept has been lost. As a result there are many Non-Commissioned Officers that are not as proficient as they should be. Being able to go to war isn’t the only thing an NCO has to be able to be. Training and mentoring is a never ending process.There is always something new to learn. There is always someone around who can teach a soldier no matter what the rank on a soldier’s chest might me. In this specific profession soldiers wont only be trained on their specific MOS’s or combat skills but on moral and ethical issues as well to improve the soldiers understanding of how to perform the job asked of them and how to present themselves. Again unlike other professions when this uniform is dawned the soldiers stops representing his or her self but now represents the Army and the United States of America.The Army is slowing down on its deployments so the focus on training has shifted and there are many who need to pay attention and learn so they will continue to be a valuable to the military. The Army is as fluid as a fiver and the soldiers in it need to be as fluid as well. It should be the goal of every soldier to mentor those who are below them to help create a better army, and to find a roll model to mentor them so they can achieve the higher levels they are striving for.As a hole the Army has succeeded in accomplishing all of its missions and tackled the obstacles it comes up against. So this is just one more obstacle t o overcome. Making things less stressful and more relaxed will make things worse for solders in general. Discipline has to be enforced to keep control of the mission and to prepare the Army for any future missions it comes up against. Training how we fight and how to present ourselves is the responsibility of every soldier.A leader mentors a subordinate and a senior leader mentors the leader so on and so forth so that there is always an endless cycle of learning and bring the Army into a greater profession. The Army is a career many people will never try and those that do are asked to give more than most other professions, but the difference is the soldiers on this profession represent something much greater than their job. They represent America and as a profession every effort has to be taken to keep America from becoming something other then great.

Letting God Flow Through You Essay

As mortal beings, we cannot be sure that we will be alive to perform the tasks we have intended to perform, regardless of whether we have planned for tomorrow or another day in future. It is for this reason that Dr. Wayne Dyer’s book, The Power of Intention, advises us to go with the divine flow that gave us life and would lead us on to perform the chores we have intended to perform. According to Dr. Dyer, there is nothing that we do without the divine energy that does not only support us in making intentions but also completes the chores for us with excellence. Thus, intention may be referred to as God. Dr. Dyer states that there are seven facets of intention, that is, creativity, kindness, love, beauty, expansion, abundance, and receptivity. We all desire to be creative, for example, just as we desire to be shown kindness to and be loved. However, according to Dr. Dyer’s advice – it is not possible to remove the obstacles from the way unless we have intended to go with the divine flow to receive these blessings from God. After all, the mulish, oft negative ego may try to get in the way. What is the solution to negativity, that is, feeling bad and unable to achieve our goals? According to Dr. Dyer, we would just have to trust God or the divine energy that flows through us in order to complete the tasks assigned us in this lifetime. Thus, in order to be happy, we would simply have to align ourselves with the feeling of happiness that is always ready to flow through us. There may be any number of things for us to feel happy about. As an example, if we are gifted with eyesight we can be grateful for that and enjoy the blessing with the awareness that some people are born blind. But, we cannot wait on achievement of our goals. We simply have to trust, and flow. Each moment we live becomes a blessing this way. And, our goals are achieved with God (Dyer). Works Cited Dyer, Wayne. The Power of Intention. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 200

An in-depth study of behavioural problems and the impact these have on Research Proposal

An in-depth study of behavioural problems and the impact these have on learners in Manchester (uk) primary schools - Research Proposal Example hools can be quite comfortable with looking after children with physical disabilities - but when it comes to behaviour problems, they also have to weigh up their responsibilities to other pupils †¦It is the issue where conflicts between meeting individual needs and â€Å"efficient education for other children† are the most difficult to reconcile† (BBC). The problem of disruptive behaviour and its negative effect on learning is also emphasised in the Ofsted’s Annual Report of HM’s Chief Inspector of Schools 2003/2004 issued in February 2005 (Steer 5). It is well known that behaviour management is high on the UK education policy and practice agenda for many years. The UK government and school staff have a great deal to support pupils in managing their behaviour, but it is not easy, and classroom behaviour problems are still one of the major difficulties of all teachers, including junior ones. Chaplain argues that emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) are wide ranging, at one level they even can be classified as a special educational need (162). But it is important to understand that pupil showing behavioural difficulties may be very different with different teachers, and it is seldom the case when they exhibit behavioural difficulties with all teachers. That’s why the UK government policies tends to encourage school principals and stuff to include as many pupils as possible within mainstream schools, nesting specialist approaches in school policies for those children who might be considered to have EBD. The term â€Å"emotional and behavioural difficulties† has a long and complicated history, as well as it is a broad label covering a whole range of specific difficulties. Modern understanding of EBD was proposed in the first time in 1992 by the National Mental Health and Special Education Coalition as follows: â€Å"(i) The term emotional or behavioural disorder means a disability characterised by behavioural or emotional responses in school programs

Hunting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hunting - Essay Example This is hunting was seen as a dangerous mission and required tact and skills which women did not possess. Men also made tools for hunting and protection while women concentrated on house chores such as cooking and making wearing apparel (Stiles). It is believed that the hunting and gathering societies moved from the hunting and gathering to horticulture. The move was not abrupt and was influenced by the changing climatic conditions that reduced the wild game. Horticulture is different from agriculture as it involves small pieces of land that were cultivated using digging sticks and abandoned after some time. The roles of men and women were different such that the men were different as men cleared the land and women planted seeds, tended and harvested the crops. Men at this stage continued to hunt but they were less productive (Stiles). Agriculture involves growing of plants and rearing of animals. Men and women play different roles in agriculture such that men are involved in the heavy physical labor of preparing land, herding livestock, application of pesticides and negotiating sale of crops. Women on the other hand are involved in weeding, taking care of the kitchen and the garden at home. The similarity here is in taking care of animals where the men take care of the large herds while the women take care of the smaller livestock at home (Prakash). Men and women roles are complex today with most of the tasks shared and others neutral. It is difficult to pin point particular roles of the different genders today. Women primarily are still the care takers in today’s society with men still the providers. The roles are mostly neutral with any of the genders undertaking any role. This has been attributed to the fact that there is no weaker gender or a man’s job and the advocacies of gender equity (Siegel,

Leadership Communication Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Leadership Communication - Coursework Example The understanding of one’s audience is very important for leaders in ensuring effective communication for several reasons. The first reason is that understanding the audience presents the leader an opportunity to know the best ways to employ in delivering the message to the audience to ensure a great number of the audience understand or benefit from the information conveyed (Barret, 2014). The leader needs to understand the reasons why his topic is important to the audience, as well as the lessons he may want the audience to learn or know relevant to his presentation. Knowing the audience involves understanding their cultural differences, religious beliefs, age, educational levels, among other things. In order to ensure effective communication in this case, the leader needs to project positive ethos. In order to achieve this, a leader needs to be trustworthy (Agarwal, 2010). This helps make the audience build trust on him. In addition, the leader needs to have good reputation as well as develop and uphold similarity with the audience. This helps in maintaining trust as well as winning the approval of the audience, thereby making the communication effective (Barret, 2014). There are several barriers to effective communication. Some of these include language barriers, gender, emotional barriers, as well as cultural barriers. Physical, perceptual as well as interpersonal barriers may also form part of the barriers to effective communication (Agarwal, 2010). For instance, a person may communicate in a language that the audience do not understand. This is a form of language barrier. This was one case experienced in my workplace recently involving ineffective communication. The leader came and issued instructions in his local dialect. As a result, nobody understood what he said. However, he never bothered to explain or translate to a language that we could understand. This could be

EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED HOW SWAT OFFICERS AND FILM CREWS HANDLE Assignment

EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED HOW SWAT OFFICERS AND FILM CREWS HANDLE SURPRISES - Assignment Example 2005 pp. 336). Bricolage is dependent on sociocognitive resources developed by group members, this is done through work draft agreements, reinforcement and involvement of task operations while enabling the development of cross-member expertise. Researchers have started to pay attention to surprise as a crucial element within business operations. (Lampel & Shapira, 2001; Weick, 1995; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001). Surprise is defined as a split from the normal expected outcome that the participants did not anticipate. Surprises include components within organizations that are unforeseen and pull away participant’s concentration away from progressing on the work. Surprises are fascinating as they demonstrate the extraordinary methods in which various firms come across uncertainties and adjust, while at the same time offer openings for further analysis for future robust action. (McDaniel, Jordan, & Fleeman, 2003; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001). they happen. This research is interested in the determination of the frequency and success in how police Swat and film crews react to surprise and their preparation to change. This research paper is also interested in how the organizations redirect operations as circumstances change and development of collective resources. Analysis not only requires the investigation of group members’ responses to surprise, but also studying the process that facilitate rapid response. The study made comparisons on organizational practices on both categories of organizations and their mode of expecting, anticipating, and sometimes embracing, the unexpected. The title of the article is plain and clear to the content and the rationale of the research. It concisely explains all the facets of the research in the interested article, which is how swat officers and film crews handle surprises. Hence the title of the article is a reflection of the the

Autobiographical Narrative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Autobiographical Narrative - Essay Example As a result, I have started to see new things with my own eyes which I never used to see before; feel new things with the same heart which never gave me those feelings before! Of course, things have changed considerably since I overcame this ultimate test of my life, but the test was never an easy one! It was the first and most crucial challenge in my entire life up to the last fifteen years when my doctor advised me to become a vegetarian in order to improve my health. For a person who was born and brought up as a ‘pure’ non-vegetarian, the ‘mere’ idea behind this vegetarianism was anything but easily digestible. And, no doubt, I became too upset too fast! â€Å"It is going to be in the best interest of your life!† – my physician was clear-cut in his voice. I tried my best to avoid such a situation – I debated a great deal with the doctor on the idiocy of the idea, and organized my arguments against concept of vegetarianism. But, in the end, I had to give up my idea, and then started the most challenging phase of my life. â€Å"Hope it’s not going to be the end of my happy life† – thought I, as I came out of the physician’s room.... I never knew, in my short life, what it means to adjust or compromise, because I have never been of that type. â€Å"I want a play-station today† – I would demand my mom, and it was there in the evening. Even my elder brother was not fortunate in enjoying this distinction, as he was always directed to make the adjustments for me! â€Å"You ought to make the compromise, Jerry,† my father used to tell my brother, â€Å"because John is much younger to you.† In other words, there is not a single child in the whole world who was fortunate to enjoy the more satisfying things in life and I lived like a king in my own empire. Life seemed terribly changed once I was expected to make adjustments for the first time in my entire life – that too, on the very matter which is most crucial in my life. I think I’m yet to introduce myself as a person who is deeply addicted to eating too much, but it is the most telltale feature of my life. I’m widely kn own among my friends and relatives as a youngster who was an ardent admirer of non-vegetarian items in the menu. Yes, I have been a ‘pure’ non-vegetarian for the last fifteen years or more! I just love to come across more recipes in non-vegetarian and I had a craze for Italian and Chinese cuisine. I enjoyed almost all the items in my non-veg. menu and it was almost clear from the way I looked. I’m under treatment for the same reason – that I’m an obese now. I was prescribed to turn to be a vegetarian for the same reason – as part of the overall strategy for weight control, cholesterol reduction, and blood pressure reduction. It was a Himalayan task for me to adjust myself to the requirements of my new life which is totally devoid of the presence of fish, meat,

Evaluate the Approach of Franklin Roosevelt in Dealing With the Essay

Evaluate the Approach of Franklin Roosevelt in Dealing With the Problems of the Great Depression - Essay Example A large chunk of population was using credit to buy the necessities of life and the consumers were losing their buying power. The production levels fell and the businesses failed. The farmers also suffered as a result of this as the food prices fell (Burgan 9) and the primary industries like mining suffered the most. The USA economy also saw the â€Å"Black Tuesday† in this time when the stock market crashed. Other problems associated with the Great Depression were that a lot of banks had to close down as they had invested large part of the people. When this started happening, a panic was seen throughout the entire country as people started withdrawing their own cash from the banks, resulting in turmoil and more bank closure. Since the banks did not have that much money on hands with them, the people who did not reach the banks in time became bankrupt. In this great depression even farmers were not safe because during this time there were severe droughts as the Great Plains we re hit by dust storms. These storms destroyed everything in their path, the farmer’s crops so that they were not even able to feed themselves in addition of being in debt. The Great Depression started in the United States in the presidency of Herbert Hoover who often gave the hopes for a bright future for the USA but majority of people blamed him for the economic crisis that the USA faced and hence his reelection was out of question (Marsh 8). Therefore in 1932 Franklin Roosevelt was elected as the President of the country with the people banking him on hopes to get them out the disastrous situation. As soon as Roosevelt assumed the office he closed down all banks and ordered them to open when the conditions had stabilized. He then initiated the New Deal. He took a series of decisions and the legislations were passed which the historians see as the 3 R’s. They are recovery, relief and reform. The relief part tended to introduce short term programs that were aimed at fi nishing the immediate sufferings of the poor, recovery aimed at the long term programs to bring the economy back at its pre depression level and reform was aimed at bringing in laws and changes that will prevent future depression like these. The ‘new deal’ was broken down into many parts. The first part consisted of policies of the trickledown effect. The programs pointed towards the Keynesian set of economic policies. The first new deal aimed which was a series of acts in 1933 included the agricultural adjustment act which accepted that low prices resulted from an overproduction of crops therefore the government gave subsidies to farmers so that they produce lesser so that the crop prices can go up again. However some people said that this contradicted with the fact that so many people were going hungry in the country. It also failed to deal with the primary problem of the great depression which was the falling consumer demand due to unemployment and continuously decre asing wages. Then again there was a National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) in 1933 which said centralized planning to combat this crisis (Ruggiero 41). Industries were advised to (The New Deal or Radical Change) avoid the cut throat competition and that they would not be broken up but instead would work in collaboration with each other and be controlled by organizing the labor and the governmental activities. They will plan out the activities of the

Application of Key Systems Theory Concepts Essay Example for Free

Application of Key Systems Theory Concepts Essay Bright Light Limited (BLL) has grown wide and far. It envelopes several departments which function according to the information provided to it. It collectively contributes to the efficient functioning of the enterprise. All its departments require several Information system’s to manage its data and evaluate the productivity of the resources. It has occupied a good share in the market because of its quality and excellent service. Presently, the use of IS is not done in full force. It once decided to implement a CAD/CAM system but no avail. The operations of all the departments cannot be tracked and any irregularities of the organization are not captured. This may lead to poor quality of goods and service. The IS would bring the elements of the organization to the same page so that every department can interact with each other to share information anytime and be in synchronization with the developments taking place. All the loopholes and exceptional cases can be captured to optimize the use of resources. Proper engineering principals have been discussed so that every requirement is enveloped into the IS and can be managed to optimize the present working of the organization. The implementation of IS would give a defined structure to the organization and stay in healthy communication with all the departments. The IS would be an organization itself and would manage all the resources effectively. The involvement of IS would enable them to compete with international threats in the market. B) Task 1 BLL has several suppliers such as producers of electronic components, glass, transistors and many others. The company purchases raw materials from these suppliers are integrate them to make a deliverable product. The final product is sold to a number of local, national and international wholesalers and retailers. The involvements of the departments are quite evident in the process of transition from materials procurement to final delivery. 1. Application of Key Systems Theory Concepts: The entire process of input-process-output is quite evident in the process of rendering customers with products and services. The inputs are in the form of customer request. Primarily the development of products would be done based on the previous goods sold and the feedback received. The type of products namely light bulbs and fluorescents are manufactured by the organization and sold to the retailers and wholesalers nationwide and internationally. Figure 1 : System diagram of the Organization process. a. Inputs: The nature of inputs is in the form of customers’ orders and feedbacks. They are also in the form of raw materials procured from the suppliers which ultimately are processed to form finished goods. Once the customer places the orders, according to the dimension of the order, it is taken up for compliance. The right amount of raw materials is ordered from the suppliers and it passes through the design process. The final product after the quality check is delivered to the customer in time. The process of selling might be over at this stage but marketing group takes over to get the feedback and improve their service conditions and product quality for greater satisfaction. So at this stage the customers’ order and feedback both act as inputs to the organization. The raw materials purchased from the suppliers also act as inputs for the finished products. b. Process: There are a number of processes which are present in the organization that directly and indirectly influence the working of the organization and in shaping various forms of output. The most crucial process is the ordering of raw materials after an order is placed. This process is quite essential for the further processing of the order, its quality factors, timely delivery and customer satisfaction. The next process would be the combination of the raw materials so that the correct blend enables to produce quality goods for gaining customer satisfaction. Another process would be to collect the feedback from the customer which happens to be a lengthy process. It would require patience on the part of the organization to collect after sales data for further processing to create a better process chain and innovate the look and feel of products to cater better audience. The HRM process would enable findings of the worker output, taking care of the human resources in the organization and training them for newer business objectives and process innovation. There are several small processes such as logistics and despatch which would handle the management of the products namely bulbs and fluorescents. It would function for warehousing, inventory management and delivery of the products to the customer. c. Output: There are quite a number of forms of output which helps the organization to take care of customer needs and render greater satisfaction of service. One is the finished goods which serve the customers either entirely or through the means of wholesalers and retailers. The feedback of the customers forms a greater source of output for after sales service and to make their product better. Another form of output is the worker productivity and resource utilization so that the turnover can be assessed after eliminating the wastage of resources. d. Feedback The source of feedback is from various sources. One is from the employees who work in the organization. They are best to identify the positive and negative factors to be capitalize so as to encompass the demerits and the irregularities. They stand best for providing the feedback as they work at the ground level and are able to understand the micro level problems which must be taken care at the earliest. The other form of feedback is from the customer for after sales feedback and for product innovation. e. Boundary It defines the scope of the organization to the level of service. The scope is in the production of bulbs and fluorescents only. The company has not diversified into other forms of business and concentrates into only few products. To have a greater share of the market into related products it must diversify the product base so as to cover against losses. f. Interaction with the environment The environment constitutes of the suppliers and the customers. The suppliers are the ones who supply for raw materials and must be taken care by the organization in allowing them special privileges and offers. They must be acknowledged for their service and could in some circumstances be allowed to share profits of the organization. They must be given a representation in the management of the company. 2. Analysis of Information flow throughout the departments: The major decision making is done and propagated by the managing director to the marketing, human resources and electrical engineering and design departments. Once they have a clear and planned mind set of the aims they are able to work on the targets required to be met. The communication is downward in case for higher management and lateral for the middle and lower management.

Induction Plan Essay Example for Free

Induction Plan Essay The entire staff member must attend three hour of induction training. At the first two hour of the induction all the waiter, waitress and supervisor will need to combine to have their induction together. First I will welcome them to our organisation, briefly tell them overview of their duties, discuss the rule of our company, and an introduction to the benefits provided to all the employees. Besides that, I will take them to a tour around the restaurant and show them all the equipment in the restaurant. After that I will create an ice breaking session to let them introduce themselves to each other and chat a while with each other. In order to create team sprit among them, I will divide them in to groups to play a game or complete a task. A leader will be selected among them and groups with supervisor in it the supervisor will be the leader, but if the group does not have a supervisor in it they can just choose anybody to be the leader. After that I will ask them to have a role play, some of them will act as the customers whom are very hard to handle and some of them will be the supervisor or waiter of the restaurant. The people who act as the supervisor or waiter of the restaurant must find a way to settle the problem. They also need to switch their roles after they finish because every employee must have a chance to act as the customers and the waiter or supervisor of the restaurant. After the two hours of the induction programme, both waiter or waitress and supervisor need to have a separate induction programme in the next one hour. For the supervisors they will need to attend a briefing on how should they manage the restaurant and how they should treat their staff. I will also let them know what they should do when their staff did something wrong, how they should react in all kinds of situation and other important things that they need to take precaution while managing the restaurant. For the waiters and waitresses, they will need to attend a briefing on how should they treat their supervisor and what should they do if your supervisor does not do his or her duty as a supervisor. I will also let them know how they should react in all kinds of situation and other important  things that they need to take precaution as a waiter or waitress. A number of issues need to be decided in advance if an induction programme is to be successful . (Maimunah Aminuddin, 2009). So, I will make sure that the induction programme will go on smoothly. I strongly agree that, induction programme should be scheduled as soon as the new employee joins the company, the longer the delay, the less effective the programme will be. (Maimunah Aminuddin, 2009).

Sociological Perspective: Westboro Baptist Church

Sociological Perspective: Westboro Baptist Church Kyle Mahoney A counterculture is a subculture that rejects the major values, norms, and practices of the larger society, replacing them with a new set of cultural patterns (Thomas); the Westboro Baptist Church is an example of a counterculture due to its rejection of societal norms such as respect for the dead and acceptance of others, especially LGBT people, Jewish people, other Christian people, and African-Americans and black people in general. Their messages of extreme hatred for minorities, Jewish people, and those who do not share the same beliefs as them as well as their extremely aggressive use of media attention to further their hateful agenda, show that they are rebelling against norms, major values, and practices of the larger society, namely respect for others and an inclusive, caring attitude towards minorities. By using media attention and publicity, they are actively and aggressively trying to spread their hateful message and make others feel the same way they do about minorities, other religions, and the LGBT community. In the BBC documentary The Most Hated Family in America, one of the leaders of the group said that the Westboro Baptist Church was not in the process of attempting to convert sinners or grow their church, and that their real purpose was to provoke people and spread the hatred of God, to make people sympathize with the hatred that the Westboro Baptist Church shows. This leader then proceeds to talk about how the churchs goal is to plant the seeds of Gods hatred in the hearts and minds of others (OConnor). Pastor Fred Phelps, after dropping out of West Point and graduating with a ministerial degree from Jones College, began serving as Westboro Baptist Churchs pastor in 1955, and he and his family are the leaders of the church and its actions (Westboro Baptist Church). In 1967 the Westboro Baptist Church became not-for-profit. The group became fairly active in picketing, releasing statements regarding homosexuality and other things they viewed as sins, and anti-semitism in the 1990s onward. The majority of the Churchs membership is constituted of its founder Fred Phelps family. The first time the church truly gained media attention was in 1998, when Westboro picketed the funeral of a gay murder victim named Matthew Shephard. The group had signs saying God hates fags, among other extremely derogatory statements (Anti-Defamation League). The group also attempted to build a granite monument to Shephard, with his name and an anti-gay bible verse on it; their request to build this monument i n a public park was denied (Southern Poverty Law Center). The group truly came into the public spotlight in 2005, when they began to actively picket and protest deceased soldiers funerals, toting signs saying Thank God for dead soldiers and Thank God for IEDs, which brought them national attention from the media (Anti-Defamation League). In March 2006, the Westboro Baptist Church picketed the funeral of Matthew Snyder, who had served in Iraq. Albert Snyder, Matthews father, sued the Westboro Baptist Church for defamation, invasion of privacy, and emotional distress. The case eventually came before the Supreme Court of the United States in 2010 (Southern Poverty Law Center). The Supreme Court of the United States held that the Westboro Baptist Church was within their First Amendment rights while protesting and picketing funerals, and that their hateful speech was protected by their First Amendment rights as well (Snyder v. Phelps ET AL. ). Westboro Baptist Church remains active to th is day, and according to their website they have conducted 59,091 pickets as of this writing (Westboro Baptist Church). The group has also been banned from certain countries after threatening to picket funerals, namely the United Kingdom and Canada (Southern Poverty Law Center). The group is significant in the fact that they receive large amounts of media attention and that they are known for protecting their right to free speech in court, and the group actively challenges laws protecting the United States flag from desecration (Anti-Defamation League). Their ideology is an extremist Christian view that manifests itself as hatred towards basically all groups save the Westboro Baptist Church; focusing on minority groups and military. The sociological perspective is defined as being able to look beyond commonly held beliefs to see the bigger picture and the true meanings behind human actions (Thomas 4-5). A major driver of the Westboro Baptist Church is the fact that almost all of its key members are related, and that the children raised in the church are essentially brainwashed into thinking that they are right and all other groups or opinions are wrong. The group seems to simply spew hatred, but they truly believe that by spreading hateful ideas they are spreading the word of God to everyone (TED). The sociological imagination is defined as being able to see the connection between the larger world and ones personal life (Thomas 4-5 ). This group has affected the world by spreading hateful ideas, and act as a force that the greater culture rallies against, due to the Westboro Baptist Churchs disregard of mores like respecting the dead, the United States flag, and soldiers. Legally, this group is significant for p roving on the Supreme Court level that their picketing is legal and protected by the first Amendment (Snyder v. Phelps ET AL. ), along with their challenging of laws that protect the flag from desecration, and the group raises questions about the limits of first Amendment rights. Ethnocentrism is defined as viewing ones own culture or group as superior to another culture or group (Thomas 35), and by viewing American culture as superior it is easy to see why the Westboro Baptist Church is seen as a counterculture. The American people value diversity, it is often stressed in our society that it is good to be different or that everyone is unique; the Westboro Baptist Church rebels against this value in diversity, stating that other groups are inherently inferior as designed by God, and that these inferior groups deserve to die and burn in hell (Westboro Baptist Church). American culture also values the flag, which Westboro Baptist Church is known for desecrating and overturning laws protecting the flag. Most of all American culture values veterans, active duty soldiers, and the deceased, which Westboro Baptist Church actively pickets with signs reading Thank God for IEDs among other travesties (Westboro Baptist Church), showing that they are rebelling against ma jor mores that are valued by American culture. The groupss supremacist attitude, along with their hatred of homosexuals, the Jewish, and blacks, define them as a counterculture which rebels against the mores regarding diversity and freedom for all. Their hatred for soldiers and even the practice of funerals only serves to further prove they are a counterculture; by picketing funerals of soldiers the group is rebelling against major values and mores of society (Anti-Defamation League). Cultural relativism is defined as judging a culture by their own standards rather than imposing another cultures standards on a culture (Thomas 36). By applying cultural relativism to the Westboro Baptist Church, it is easy to see that the groupss member believe they are justified, and that what they are doing may be hateful, but it is hateful because God wants the group to spread hate. The group views itself as the only real religion that God will recognize, and views all other groups, even fellow Christians, as sinners destined for hell. The group feels that it is justified in its hatred of homosexuality because homosexuality is seen as a sin in the bible (Westboro Baptist Church). The group pickets funerals because they believe that funerals are where people will be most receptive to their ideas, and the group pickets soldiers funerals more often because they believe that the military is sinful and that the military is protecting the rights of homosexuals (Westboro Baptist Church) . The group is so invested in what they believe to be Gods divine mission for them that they do not care if they receive hate in return, and they believe that they are justified in disregarding major values, practices, and norms of society. Personally, as someone who was raised with a Protestant church background, as well as someone possessing black, Jewish, veteran, Catholic, and homosexual family members, I abhor and reject the practices of the Westboro Church; I see their actions as extremely disrespectful and devoid of anything that God would support, as the bible speaks more about inclusivity and loving sinners than spreading hatred. Although by taking a culturally relative view of the groups actions, I believe they are too extreme in showing that homosexuality is a sin, and as someone who no longer identifies as Christian I believe that people should be allowed to love who they want regardless of gender. I am not by any means a theologian or an ardent Christian, but I still believe that the Westboro Baptist Churchs extremist views, although protected by the first Amendment, are to be abhorred. I also strongly believe that the dead, especially those who died in active duty, should be held to the highest levels of r espect and honor, and I believe that the greater American culture is in concurrence with me in this belief. Westboro Baptist Church is important to the world because it has a global impact and brings issues regarding free speech and how far extension of free speech goes, and I hope that in the future the Westboro Baptist Church will never come to represent the majority opinion of Americans, because their hatred of others is disgusting. I believe that taking a certain degree of ethnocentrism is necessary when dealing with the Westboro Baptist Church because their ideals are so hateful that they can bring out hatred in others, and ethnocentrism acts as a barrier to stop their hatred from spreading. To conclude, Westboro Baptist Churchs extremist Christian views are so opposite to the major mores of American society that it makes them a counterculture, and the Westboro Baptist Church is an extremely hateful group that hopefully will not stand the test of time. References The Most Hated Family in America. Dir. Geoffrey OConnor. Perf. Louis Theroux. 2007. Documentary. Anti-Defamation League. Westboro Baptist Church. n.d. Archived Website. 10 March 2017. Snyder v. Phelps ET AL. . No. 09-751. Supreme Court of the United States. 6 October 2010. Court Case. Southern Poverty Law Center. SPL Center. n.d. Website. 7 March 2017. TED. I Grew Up in the Westboro Baptist Church. This is why I left. February 2017. Video. Thomas, W Laverne. Sociology- The Study of Human Relationships. Austin: Holt,Rinehart, Winston, 2003. 39, 4-5, 35, 36. Textbook. Westboro Baptist Church. God Hates Fags. n.d. Website. 10 March 2017.

Software Quality Development Plan for a Hospital :: software industry, risk management

1. Introduction:- The development of good quality software is very important factor in software industry . Medical software of medical devices with embedded software and decision support system can have great affect on the supply of patient care . A good quality software with poor management practices will never give very good quality of services. Hospital industry and telecom industry are facing challenges in terms of managing software . There have lots of reasons behind this activity . Main reasons are size , complexity of practices , management and comply to change. Depending upon the quality of the software systems, the accuracy of data and consequently of information are determined . There are a number of major and minor systems placed in Irish hospitals , where patients clinicians , nursing , it , administration , data entry personnel , researchers , governing bodies , and external auditors have different expectations understanding and requirements . The use of MS Access allows staff with little experience or knowledge of data quality techniques to collect data which is used for crucial decision making process along the patient journey . I will discuss an implementation of a software quality plan for Irish hospitals through the use of recognised healthcare and software quality models and standards in this essay.

Sexual Passion in The Turn of the Screw :: Turn of the Screw Essays

Sexual Passion  in  The Turn of the Screw   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In a criticism on Henry James’s story The Turn of the Screw, Strother Purdy suggests that large amounts of sexual passion may be assumed to exist underneath the surface of the narrative. Purdy says that under a Freudian interpretation of the story, the sexual element is easily recognized and is used as the whole source of the action. According to this theory, the governess wishes to impress her master because she is in love with him and, therefore, exceeeding her authority with the children. Although the governess only sees her master twice, Purdy refers back to what Douglas had said,† it was the beauty of her passion.† Since the master is not impressed by her initial and ordinary course of governessing, she must make up some life-threatening danger to the children so she can rescue them and win the masters love and affection. She figures the danger must be terrible because he told her he did not want to be bothered with matters dealing with the children. He basica lly tells her he cares nothing for the children. Purdy suggests the governess is unconscious in doing this because she is sexually repressed and cannot admit her sexual motives to herself She believes she is actually protecting the children against an outside evil, which happens to coincide with her drive to demonstrate heroism and devotion to the master. According to Purdy, the governess conjures up ghosts because she invited them and willed them to come. Purdy feels the housekeeper plays her trump card and the governess' concern is not for the children but for all that would become of her, her bargain with the master, her relationship, and her passion for him. Purdy finds the following quotes to show her passion for the master and show that this serves as the motive of action. â€Å"She did not know- no one knew- how proud I had been to serve him and to stick to our terms.† â€Å"I set in motion the fine machinery to attract his attention to my slighted charms.

Obesity and Asthma

What Is Asthma? Asthma is a disease that affects your lungs. It is one of the most common long-term diseases of children, but adults have asthma, too. Asthma causes repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and nighttime or early morning coughing. If you have asthma, you have it all the time, but you will have asthma attacks only when something bothers your lungs. In most cases, we don't know what causes asthma, and we don't know how to cure it. We know that if someone in your family has asthma, you are also more likely to have it.You can control your asthma  by knowing the warning signs of an attack, staying away from things that trigger an attack, and following the advice of your doctor or other medical professional. When you control your asthma: * you won't have symptoms such as wheezing or coughing, * you'll sleep better, * you won't miss work or school, * you can take part in all physical activities, and * you won't have to go to the hospital. How Is Asth ma Diagnosed? Asthma can be hard to diagnose, especially in children younger than 5 years of age.Regular physical checkups that include checking your lung function and checking for allergies can help your doctor or other medical professional make the right diagnosis. During a checkup, the doctor or other medical professional will ask you questions about whether you cough a lot, especially at night, and whether your breathing problems are worse after physical activity or during a particular time of year. Doctors will also ask about other symptoms, such as chest tightness, wheezing, and colds that last more than 10 days.They will ask you whether your family members have or have had asthma, allergies, or other breathing problems, and they will ask you questions about your home. The doctor will also ask you about missing school or work and about any trouble you may have doing certain activities. A lung function test, called  spirometry  (spy-rom-e-tree), is another way to diagnose a sthma. A spirometer (spy-rom-e-ter) measures the largest amount of air you can exhale, or breathe out, after taking a very deep breath. The spirometer can measure airflow before and after you use asthma medicine.What Is an Asthma Attack? An asthma attack happens in your body's airways, which are the paths that carry air to your lungs. As the air moves through your lungs, the airways become smaller, like the branches of a tree are smaller than the tree trunk. During an asthma attack, the sides of the airways in your lungs swell and the airways shrink. Less air gets in and out of your lungs, and mucus that your body produces clogs up the airways even more. The attack may include coughing, chest tightness, wheezing, and trouble breathing. Some people call an asthma attack an  episode.What Causes an Asthma Attack? An asthma attack can occur when you are exposed to things in the environment, such as house dust mites and tobacco smoke. These are called  asthma triggers. Important Asth ma Triggers On This Page * Environmental Tobacco Smoke (Secondhand Smoke) * Dust Mites * Outdoor Air Pollution * Cockroach Allergen * Pets * Mold * Wood Smoke * Other Triggers If you have asthma your airways always have some irritation. When you have an asthma attack this irritation gets worse and your airways close part way and get blocked with mucus.Asthma attacks may include coughing, chest tightness, wheezing, and trouble breathing. An asthma attack can occur when you are exposed to things in the environment, such as house dust mites and tobacco smoke. These are called  asthma triggers. Your personal triggers can be very different from those of another person with asthma. Try to avoid your triggers. Some of the most important triggers are listed below: Environmental Tobacco Smoke (Secondhand Smoke) Environmental tobacco smoke is often called  secondhand smokebecause the smoke created by a smoker is breathed in by a second person nearby.Parents, friends, and relatives of chil dren with asthma should try to stop smoking and should never smoke around a person with asthma. They should only smoke outdoors and not in the family home or car. They should not allow others to smoke in the home, and they should make sure their child's school is smoke-free. Dust Mites Dust mites are in almost everybody’s homes, but they don’t cause everybody to have asthma attacks. If you have asthma, dust mites may be a trigger for an attack. To help prevent asthma attacks, use mattress covers and pillowcase covers to make a barrier between dust mites and yourself.Don’t use down-filled pillows, quilts, or comforters. Remove stuffed animals and clutter from your bedroom. Outdoor Air Pollution Pollution caused by industrial emissions and automobile exhaust can cause an asthma attack. Pay attention to air quality forecasts on radio, television, and Internet and plan your activities for when air pollution levels will be low if air pollution aggravates your asthma. A good source of air quality information is  EnviroFlash. Cockroach Allergen:Cockroaches and their droppings may trigger an asthma attack.Get rid of cockroaches in your home and keep them from coming back by taking away their food and water. Cockroaches are usually found where food is eaten and crumbs are left behind. Remove as many water and food sources as you can because cockroaches need food and water to survive. At least every 2 to 3 days, vacuum or sweep areas that might attract cockroaches. You can also use roach traps or gels to decrease the number of cockroaches in your home. Pets:Furry pets may trigger an asthma attack. When a furry pet is suspected of causing asthma attacks, the simplest solution is to find the pet another home.If pet owners are too attached to their pets or are unable to locate a safe, new home for the pet, they should keep the pet out of the bedroom of the person with asthma. Pets should be bathed weekly and kept outside as much as possible. People w ith asthma are not allergic to their pet’s fur, so trimming your pet’s fur will not help your asthma. If you have a furry pet, vacuum often to clean up anything that could cause an asthma attack. If your floors have a hard surface, such as wood or tile, and are not carpeted, damp mop them every week.Mold:Inhaling or breathing in mold can cause an asthma attack. Get rid of mold in all parts of your home to help control your asthma attacks. Keep the humidity level in your home between 35% and 50%. In hot, humid climates, you may need to use an air conditioner or a dehumidifier or both. Fix water leaks, which allow mold to grow behind walls and under floors. Wood Smoke:Smoke from burning wood is made up of a mix of harmful gases and small particles. Breathing in too much of this smoke can cause an asthma attack. Other TriggersInfections linked to influenza (flu), colds, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can trigger an attack. Sinus infections, allergies, breathing in some chemicals, and acid reflux can irritate airways and trigger asthma attacks. Strenuous physical exercise; some medicines; bad weather, such as thunderstorms; high humidity; breathing in cold, dry air; biomass smoke from burning grass or other vegetation; and some foods and food additives can trigger an asthma attack. Strong emotional states can also lead to hyperventilation and an asthma attack.Learn what triggers your attacks so that you can avoid the triggers whenever possible. Be alert for a possible attack when the triggers cannot be avoided. How Is Asthma Treated? You can control your asthma  and avoid an attack by taking your medicine exactly as your doctor or other medical professional tells you to do and by avoiding things that can cause an attack. Not everyone with asthma takes the same medicine. Some medicines can be inhaled, or breathed in, and some can be taken as a pill. Asthma medicines come in two types—quick relief and long-term control.Quick-relief medi cines control the symptoms of an asthma attack. If you need to use your quick-relief medicines more and more, you should visit your doctor or other medical professional to see if you need a different medicine. Long-term control medicines help you have fewer and milder attacks, but they don’t help you if you’re having an asthma attack. Asthma medicines can have side effects, but most side effects are mild and soon go away. Ask your doctor or other medical professional about the side effects of your medicines. The important thing to remember is that  you can control your asthma.With your doctor’s or other medical professional’s help, make your own asthma action plan (management plan) so that you know what to do based on your own symptoms. Decide who should have a copy of your plan and where he or she should keep it. Take your long-term control medicine even when you don’t have symptoms. Asthma Action Plan People with Asthma Should Have an Asthma Ac tion Plan All people with asthma should have an  asthma action plan. An asthma action plan (also called a management plan) is a written plan that you develop  with your doctor  to help control your asthma.The asthma action plan shows your daily treatment, such as what kind of medicines to take and when to take them. Your plan describes how to control asthma long term AND how to handle worsening asthma, or attacks. The plan explains when to call the doctor or go to the emergency room. If your child has asthma, all of the people who care for him or her should know about the child's asthma action plan. These caregivers include babysitters and workers at daycare centers, schools, and camps. These caretakers can help your child follow his or her action plan.Data and Surveillance Asthma Surveillance Data Asthma surveillance data includes collection of asthma data at both the national and the state level. National data is available on asthma prevalence, activity limitation, days of w ork or school lost, rescue and control medication use, asthma self-management education, physician visits, emergency department visits, hospitalizations due to asthma, and deaths due to asthma from National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) surveys and the Vital Statistics System.Asthma surveillance data at the state level include adult and child asthma prevalence from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and in-depth state and local asthma data through implementation of the BRFSS Asthma Call-back Survey (ACBS). * Asthma Call-back Survey (ACBS) The ACBS is an in-depth asthma survey developed and funded by the Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch (APRHB) in NCEH. It is conducted with BRFSS survey respondents who report an asthma diagnosis. The ACBS was piloted in three states in 2005 and has been conducted each year since.A majority of states participate in the ACBS each year. * Asthma Survey Questions Description of asthma survey instruments and their word ing differences. * Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Prevalence Data BRFSS is a state-based, random-digit-dialed telephone survey designed to monitor the prevalence of the major behavioral risks among adults associated with premature morbidity and mortality. * FastStats FastStats provides quick access to statistics on topics of public health importance, including asthma. * National Health Interview Survey Prevalence DataNHIS is a multistage probability sample survey designed to solicit health and demographic information about the population, conducted annually with face-to-face interviews in a nationally representative sample of households. Asthma and daily living * ————————————————- Asthma and exercise ————————————————- ————à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Learn how to exercise without asthma symptoms ————————————————- Learn More ————————————————-Living day to day with well controlled asthma means life as normal with a little extra thought and planning   ————————————————- Many asthma triggers are common things that may be around the home, so people often ask what they can change at home, or whatproducts  might help their asthma. For others it’s plants and pollens that cause them difficulties with asthma or allergies – if that’s you, read about  asthma and allergy friendly gardens. If you find your asthma is  worse at work  then there are some tips for your consideration.If you travel with work or plan a holiday, there are a few simple suggestions to help you  make the most out of your trip. ————————————————- Having a healthy  diet  and an  active lifestyle  is an important part of living well. Being  overweight,  smoking  or suffering from  stress  or   depression   can have a significant impact on your asthma. For most people with asthma, triggers are only a problem when their asthma is not  well-controlled. Research shows that for most people with well-controlled asthma, reducing exposure to triggers doesn’t reduce symptoms or reduce the risk of an asthma attack.With good treatment, most people do not need to change their lifestyle or environment just because they have asthma. However, it may be useful for you to identify triggers and reduce your exposure to them if: * you have troublesome asthma symptoms despite treatment * you need high doses of medication to keep your asthma symptoms under control, or * your asthma is much better when you are away from home Note: Cigarette smoke is directly harmful to the airways and makes asthma worse, so exposure to cigarette smoke should be avoided by anyone who has asthma Obesity ————————————————- Is it my weight or is it my asthma that is causing my symptoms? ————————————————- Research into the link between increasing levels of obesity and asthma still hasn’t come up with a definite answer. There is a recognised association between increasing body mass index (BMI) and increased levels of diagnosed or reported asthma in bot h children and adults, and it’s possible that there are other factors, e. g. genetic or environmental that may lead to both conditions. We do know that being obese makes asthma a lot more of a problem. ———————————————— People who are obese are more likely to have asthma, to have more severe asthma, and to need more medication to control it. ————————————————- Obesity can lead to people being breathless and wheezy without having asthma, so it’s important that you get a proper diagnosis from your doctor. Once you have that, and the right medications, you should be able to increase your activity levels without getting too breathless, and start living an active life. ——————————— —————- ———————————————— Why does obesity make asthma worse? * ————————————————- Having a larger amount of fat on the body means there’s more pushing onto and into the chest, so there’s less room for the lungs to move. This causes the muscles around the airways to contract more, causing more asthma symptoms. * ————————————————- Airways in obese people with asthma are more likely to stay closed in normal breathing, so there’s less oxygen exchange able to happen. * ————————————————-Obesity c auses general inflammation in the body, which makes asthma symptoms worse. * ————————————————- People who are obese are more likely to have problems with reflux and obstructive sleep apnoea (where you stop breathing while asleep), both of which can make asthma worse. * ————————————————- There has been some suggestion in research studies that people who are obese might have less response to some asthma medications. The reason for this is not clear, and more research is needed to clarify this. ————————————————- ———————————————— Will losing weigh t really help my asthma? ————————————————- Losing weight can have a big impact on your asthma; it can improve your symptoms and reduce your need for medication. In fact if you are overweight or obese, losing weight might have a greater impact on your asthma control than increasing medication. If you have asthma and are overweight or obese you should discuss weight control and healthy lifestyle with your doctor as part of your asthma management. ————————————————-Remember:  it is important that you don’t change your medication without speaking with your doctor first. ————————————————- Having a healthy lifestyle with regular activity and a balance d diet is important for everyone. Asthma and exercise * ————————————————- Being active is an important part of life. Well controlled asthma means you shouldn’t have to stop or restrict any of your normal activities. People with asthma should be able to participate in almost any sport or exercise, for example, going to the gym,  swimming, and team sports. ———————————————— Although some people have  exercise induced asthma, many Olympic gold medals have been won by Australian athletes with asthma. Exercise is essential for people with asthma and can even help control asthma and reduce the amount of medication you need. Scuba diving  is the only form of exercise that requires some special consideration for people with asthma. Asthma at work * —â €”——————————————- ————————————————- Work-related and occupational asthma ————————————————-Up to 15% of newly diagnosed asthma cases in adults are related to exposure to agents encountered at work and up to 3,000 cases of occupational asthma occur per year in Australia. If you experience asthma symptoms at work, and these symptoms improve when you are away from work, e. g. during holidays or on weekends, you may have what is called work-related or occupational asthma. Occupational asthma can occur in many types of workplaces, but is most commonly reported where people are working with flour and isocyanates (chemicals which are found in paints as hardening agents). ———————————————— Work-aggravated asthma is different from occupational asthma, which occurs when there is sensitisation to a substance encountered at work. Work-aggravated asthma occurs when people who already have asthma are exposed to factors such as gases or fumes, smoke, dust or cold dry air which irritate the airways causing asthma symptoms to occur and make a pre-existing condition worse. ————————————————- ————————————————-What causes occupational asthma? ————————————————- Over 4000 substances in the workplace (known as sensitisers) may cause asthma. Repeated exposure to these sensitisers over a period of time (usually years) may produce permanent asthma symptoms identical to non-occupational asthma. This usually takes weeks or years to develop. ————————————————- ————————————————- What are the symptoms of occupational asthma? ————————————————-Symptoms include wheezing and coughing, shortness of breath and tightness across the chest. Often these symptoms will develop after irritation is noticed in the nose and eyes. Other workers may be affected or may have left the job because of these symptoms. ———————————â €”————- Symptoms may vary during the working week or shift. In the early stages of exposure, symptoms tend to improve when the worker is away from work. However, once the airways are sensitised, continued exposure even in small amounts can produce symptoms.Continued exposure may also lead to more symptoms and eventually to permanent asthma in some people. ————————————————- ————————————————- How do I know if I have occupational asthma? ————————————————- If you suspect something is affecting your breathing at work, go and see your doctor. They will ask you questions about your symptoms and your work, and carry out tests suc h as a  spirometry test  to decide if you might have occupational asthma.They may also ask you to keep a diary of your symptoms to compare with your working hours. There is also a software program available which can automatically compare your peak flows with your working shifts. This can be downloaded free from the  Oasys website. ————————————————- It can be very difficult to distinguish between true occupational asthma and work exacerbated asthma, and it may be necessary for your GP to refer you to a respiratory specialist with expertise in this area. Common sensitisers and occupations where workers may be exposedAgent  | Example occupations  | Wood dust (e. g. western red cedar, redwood, oak)  | Carpenters, builders, sawmill workers, sanders, model builders| Isocyanates  | Automotive industry, mechanics, painters, adhesive workers, chemical industry, polyu rethane foam workers| Formaldehyde  | Cosmetics industry, embalmers, foundry workers, hairdressers, laboratory staff, medical personnel, paper industry, plastics industry, rubber industry, tanners| Platinum salts  | Chemists, dentists, electronics industry,photographers, metallurgists| Latex  | Health care workers, textile industry, toyManufacturers| Flour nd grain dust  | Bakers, cooks, pizza makers, grocers, farmers, combine harvester drivers| Animal allergens (e. g. urine, dander)  | Veterinary surgery workers, animal care workers, laboratory workers, jockeys, animal breeders, pet shop employees| Table adapted from Hoy, R. , Abramson, M. , Sim, M. (2010). Work related asthma. Diagnosis and management. Australian Family Physician, 39 (1/2), 39-42. What is the treatment for occupational asthma? Early diagnosis and management by removing any exposure to irritants in the workplace is the best way to treat occupational asthma and prevent it becoming a permanent condition.Oth erwise, treatment with the usual asthma inhalers is usually effective. Note: Occupational asthma does not always mean having to leave your workplace, as workplace strategies can be developed. For example, if exposure cannot be minimised or ceased, then employers must provide adequate respiratory protection and/or substitute the irritant substance with a known non-irritant. This is a part of Occupational Health and Safety requirements. More information is available from your State or Territory Workcover authority   www. workcover. (insert your state). gov. u If you develop asthma symptoms at work, or your existing asthma gets worse, it is essential that you visit your doctor for tests and an accurate diagnosis. If you did not already have a diagnosis of asthma and/or a written   Asthma Action Plan  , then this should be provided to you. What if I only had temporary symptoms? If you have inhaled a high dose of a substance that causes damage to the airways, possibly as part of an industrial accident or spillage, you may temporarily experience breathlessness and wheeze similar to asthma. This is called Reactive Airways Dysfunction Syndrome (RADS).Symptoms usually occur within 24 hours of a single exposure to very high concentrations of a chemical spill, irritant gases, corrosive mists or solvent vapours. Usually, symptoms will gradually improve as your airways heal, but occasionally workers can be left with permanent symptoms. It is very important to have a medical check if this does happen, and to make sure your work environment is safe. Smoking * ————————————————- Smoking and exposure to smoke (passive smoking) can damage your lungs, and stop them from working properly. ———————————————— People with asthma who smoke have more frequent as thma attacks, have more severe asthma, and are more likely to be admitted to hospital. The type of inflammation in the airways that is caused by smoking means they don’t respond as well to preventer medication, and so need higher doses to control their asthma. ————————————————- Asthmatic children who are exposed to cigarette smoke are more likely to have poor asthma control and more likely to need admission to hospital.Smoke exposure in the car is especially bad and opening the windows does not help. ————————————————- Smoking has two main effects on the airways: ————————————————- 1) Increases mucus —————— ——————————- – more mucus-producing cells and glands grow in the airway walls ————————————————- – damages and reduces parts of the airways that help to clear mucus ————————————————- 2) Damages the airways ————————————————- chemicals in cigarette smoke destroy lung tissue and also make the airways less elastic and therefore more narrow ————————————————- – causes inflammation in the airways ————————â⠂¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- If I quit smoking will my lung function really improve? ————————————————- Everybody’s lung function tends to gradually decrease as they age, but the lung function of people who smoke decreases much faster than normal. If you stop smoking, this rate will go back to normal.This means that although the damage done to your airways by smoking cannot be fixed, it’s never too late to quit no matter how long you have smoked for. ————————————————- Is smoking around children really harmful? ————————————————- Children are more vulnerable to the bad effects of cigarette smoke. —â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- If a pregnant woman smokes, or a young child is exposed to smoke, the child is at a much greater risk of developing asthma-like symptoms in early childhood.Babies of smoking mothers are four times more likely to develop wheezing illnesses before the age of one. Even if you go outside to have a cigarette, particles can still be present on you when you return indoors, so although it’s better than smoking near your child, it may still affect them in the long term. ————————————————- Other health issues ————————————————- Around 15-20% of people who smoke develop permanent lung disease (COPD), and smoking increases the risk of many other health i ssues: stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, and cancer are just a few. ———————————————— Quitting smoking is difficult, and most people make several attempts before they quit for good. Diet and vitamin/mineral supplements and asthma * ————————————————- There are many theories about how diet can play a role in the management of asthma. Studies have been done but some have not been well designed and although they provide directions for future research, specific conclusions are not easily drawn from the data collected. Reliable data on specific vitamins and minerals is also not available.We do not recommend the routine use of vitamin and mineral supplements as part of asthma management. It is important to discuss any supplements you want to take with your doct or or pharmacist as some supplements can  interact  with other medication you are taking. Note: Some vitamin and mineral supplements can have detrimental health effects or are toxic if taken in high doses. ————————————————- ————————————————- Will a diet change help my asthma? ————————————————-Everybody should have a healthy balanced diet, which includes a mix of: * ————————————————- fresh fruit * ————————————————- fresh vegetable s * ————————————————- fish * ————————————————- lean meats * ————————————————- whole grains * ————————————————- low fat dairy products, and * ————————————————- healthy fats. ————————————————-Calorie control is also important, as being  overweight  can have a significant impact on asthma symptoms and control. Food is rare ly a trigger for asthma. Read more about  food as a trigger for asthma. Some people have specificfood allergy  which can have similar respiratory symptoms, and they need to avoid their known food allergens. If you have a serious food allergy, you should also read about  anaphylaxis. Do not restrict entire food groups without first consulting a dietitian who can help identify if any food restrictions are necessary.Note: The belief that milk increases problems with mucus for people with asthma is false. Dairy products are an important part of any diet. However, some people do have specific dairy intolerance (or allergy), which can cause symptoms in the nose, throat and ears. See our section on  food and asthma  for more information on food allergies. ————————————————- ————————————â €”———- Specific Supplements ————————————————- Magnesium and Selenium ————————————————-Magnesium (in those people low in magnesium) and selenium supplements have been shown to have a potentially positive effect on asthma symptoms, though they don’t affect breathing capacity. ————————————————- Fish Oil (EPH/DHA) ————————————————- Most trials of adding fish oil to the diet of people with asthma found that their asthma was not improved. However there is some evidence that dietary supplementation with fish oil can re duce the severity of  exercise-induced asthma  in those with mild to moderate persistent asthma.This has led to better lung function and reducedreliever  use. Eating fish at least once a week is an important part of a balanced diet. ————————————————- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) ————————————————- There is not enough information for or against using Vitamin C supplementation to improve asthma. Generally trials of the vitamin have been small, varied and not well reported. Larger and better designed studies are required. ————————————————- Probiotics —————————————à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€-Probiotics are live organisms that can be taken as a supplement to alter the types of bacteria that naturally live in your gut. The more commonly used probiotics include Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Many people know these as ‘acidophilus’ supplements. Probiotics such as lactobacillus have not been shown to be effective in improving asthma. ————————————————- Folic Acid ————————————————- Folic acid is recommended for women to take before and during the early stages of pregnancy.This significantly reduces the chance of a baby developing neural tube defects such as spina bifida, and it is also thought to play an important role in brain development. However recent research has shown that women who took folic acid supplements throughout their whole pregnancy increased their risk of having a child with asthma by about 30%. Folic acid from natural sources such as green leafy vegetables had no increased risk. It is recommended that folic acid supplements are taken only for the first 16 weeks of pregnancy, unless advised otherwise by their doctor. Stress * ————————————————-A tear-jerking movie, a fight with your partner, the stress of work related deadlines or even a joyous reunion can leave some people with asthma gasping for air. Strong emotions like fear, stress or even laughter can sometimes lead to increased asthma symptoms. ————————————————- Children can easily be affected by high levels of emotion. From fits of giggles to screaming tantrums; the effects on their asthma can be simil ar. ————————————————- ————————————————- How can I stop stress from affecting my asthma? ———————————————— While it is impossible to eliminate emotional stress from your life, you can learn to reduce the effect and recognise potential symptoms that may need some  reliever medication. * ————————————————- Be aware of the things, events or people that add stress to your life, and work at how you respond to them so you remain calmer   * —————————————â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Acknowledge the feelings you are having – this is a technique that can be effective in reducing their impact * ————————————————-If you can, remove yourself from stressful situations * ————————————————- Find constructive and positive ways to reduce your anger, anxiety or fear   * ————————————————- Learn more about your asthma; take an active role in caring for yourself and staying in control   * ————————————————- Exercise. It’s a great way to let off steam, and is good for you as well! ——†”—————————————-Life can be a roller coaster of emotions so the best thing to do is to be prepared as much as you can, and along with appropriate asthma medication you can  take control of your asthma. ————————————————- So next time you’re going to see that adrenalin pumping movie or have an experience that gets the tears rolling, make sure you’ve got your  reliever medication  with you †¦ just in case. Depression and asthma * ————————————————- Research has shown that there is a link between depression and asthma. In fact, having severe asthma more than doubles the risk of developing epression. Around 1 in 5 women and 1 in 8 men will experience dep ression in their life, and these numbers are even higher in people with asthma. As with other chronic illnesses, research shows that having severe asthma more than doubles the risk of developing depression. ————————————————- What is depression? ————————————————- Depression is a serious health condition, not just a low mood. People with depression can have trouble doing normal activities, and it can have serious effects on mental and physical health. ————————————————-How can depression and asthma affect each other? * ————————————————- Having bo th depression and asthma worsens health more than either condition alone. * ————————————————- Having depression makes it less likely that people will be treated for asthma effectively. This may be because of poor memory and problem-solving skills with a shortened attention, making it harder to recognise the need to get medical help. * ————————————————- People with depression have trouble concentrating or staying motivated.This may make them less likely to get help with their asthma, keep appointments and take medication. * ————————————————- Having uncontrolled asthma can make it harder to join in with fun activities such as playing sport or other recrea tional activities. This can make people with depression further isolated and low in motivation. * ————————————————- Stress can be a  trigger  for both asthma and depression. ————————————————- How do I know if I’m depressed? ————————————————-There are different checklists on the  BeyondBlue National Depression Initiative website  you can check to get a better idea if you or someone you know may have symptoms of depression. Depression is more than just stress and needs proper diagnosis by a health professional. You should talk to your doctor to learn more and get correct treatment. ———————â⠂¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- What can I do? ————————————————- Both depression and asthma can be treated, but first need to be recognised and diagnosed by a health professional.There are a number of treatments for depression, both therapy and medication-based. It is important to have a treatment plan that monitors both the symptoms of depression and asthma in order to find the treatment that works best for you. Some things you can do yourself include: * ————————————————- Learn relaxation techniques. * ————————————————- Get your asthma well  controlled  so you can take part in activities without being limited by your symptoms. * ————————————————- Learn as much as you can about both conditions. ————————————————- Get help and support from family and friends. * ————————————————- Visit a doctor regularly to review both your asthma and your depression. Travel * ————————————————- Make sure you have enough medication and the right equipment before you travel   ————————————————- Whether you’re taking a holiday or a work trip, changes in routine, location, weather, temperature, pollution (especially bushfires during summer in Australia) and unknown allergens may produce unexpected asthma symptoms.Following these tips will help maintain good asthma control and an â€Å"asthma friendly† time away which is enjoyable and worry-free. ————————————————- ————————————————- Visit your doctor before you go * ————————————————- Have a check-up before you go away to make sure your day-to-day asthma is  under control, that you have enough  medications, and you’re  taking them the right way. * ———————————â €”————- Make sure your written  Asthma Action Plan  is up to date. ————————————————- If you’re going overseas, it’s a good idea to get your doctor to write a letter stating the history and severity of your asthma as well as a list of your medications (using the generic brand name) and delivery devices. Carry this letter with you at all times in case of an emergency. You may need to present this report to customs in other countries if questioned about carrying medication. ————————————————- ————————————————- Your medications * —————————— ——————-Take extra medication in your luggage. * ————————————————- Keep your normal day-to-day medication with you in your carry-on bag (in case luggage gets lost). * ————————————————- Take prescriptions in case you lose your medication, or to prove it is for your own personal use. ————————————————- ————————————————- Your equipment * ————————————————- A  spacer  device is portable, inexpen sive and is just as effective (and a etter choice for travelling) than anebuliser. * ————————————————- If you do need a nebuliser, remember other countries may have different power points and voltages, so you’ll either need an adaptor, or a battery powered portable version. You’ll also need to talk to the airline before you board if you’re likely to need to use your nebuliser on board the aircraft. * ————————————————- If you normally use a  peak flow meter  take it with you. Before you travel you should know what your normal peak flow is when you are well . ———————————————— —————— Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Be prepared – plan well! * ————————————————- Carry your mobile phone with you (as well as your reliever puffer) and if you go somewhere on your own, tell someone where you are going. * ————————————————- Make sure you know the emergency phone number for the country you are visiting. * ————————————————- Make sure your travel insurance covers the cost of health care that stems from pre-existing asthma. ————————————————- Travel to high altitudes is okay as long as yo ur asthma is well controlled at sea level. * ————————————————- For your own general health and safety, before going overseas always check your destination onwww. smartraveller. gov. au  Ã‚   ————————————————- Most importantly, enjoy your trip, relax, and don’t let your asthma stop you! Being active with Asthma Are you considering training for a fun run? Endurance running is more likely to trigger asthma symptoms than other more stop-start sports and activities.Many of these events are either held in the cooler months or require training during cooler weather so the cold dry air can be a trigger for many people with asthma. Generally, the colder and drier the air, the more severe the symptoms. If air is warm and moist, asthma symptoms will tend to be less of a problem. It’s always important to be prepared when you’re training and taking part in any form of sport or activity. It’s important to ensure that your day to day asthma is generally well controlled and you have an up to date written Asthma Action Plan.If your asthma is well controlled with preventer medication, you may not experience symptoms during or after the run. There are a few ways you can reduce the risk of an asthma attack when doing a fun run: * Ensure that you take your preventer medication regularly as prescribed; * Make sure you train for the event so you are fit and able; * Warm up:- spend about 15 minutes doing some gentle activity such as a series (6-8) of brief (30 second) sprints; * Carry your blue reliever puffer with you at all times.If advised by your doctor it may be useful to use it 5 -10 minutes before starting to run; * Pace yourself: start out steadily and you’ll get further than if you expend all your energy in the first f ew minutes; * Consider wearing a collar up around your mouth and nose to help warm and moisten the air you breath in and out; * Drink regular water during the run to stay well hydrated; * If you have cold or flu symptoms  do not  taking part – this can increase your risk of having asthma problems whilst you are running or, after the race; * Slowly cool down: – spend about 10 minutes (similar to warm-up) doing lighter activities after the race.Keep in mind that whilst some people experience symptoms during exercise, the airway narrowing induced by exercise classically occurs after exercise. Be aware of this, cool down and use your reliever medication if this occurs. Well controlled asthma shouldn’t stop anyone from taking part in events such as fun runs. Being active is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, so take control of your asthma and get involved. Children and asthma * ————————— Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Young children with asthma ————————————————- ————————————————- Looking for more information about asthma medications for young children? ———————————————— Learn More ————————————————- Asthma in young children is one of the most common causes of hospital admission and visits to the doctor in this age group. ————————————————- However it is not easy to  diagnose asthma in children unde r 5 years old  as there are many reasons for wheezing and coughing at that age. ————————————————- Once diagnosis is decided, often treatment is with trials of different doses of medication. Parents often ask about whether changes to a child’s  bedding  or  diet  is needed. ————————————————-The aim of good asthma management is to ensure that children can lead a normal healthy life, while taking only as much  medication  as is needed to keep them well, and avoid  asthma attacks. ————————————————- Children can also spend periods of time away from home. It is important that the people around your child are aware if they have asthma, a nd know how to recognise symptoms and what to do in an emergency. Parents can provide friends and family with a copy of their child’s  asthma action plan  and  asthma first aid  information to help them be prepared. ————————————————- Children’s services  and  schools  play an important role in supporting children with asthma, and they can also access resources and  training  to help them. Asthma at SchoolAsthma affects around 1 in 9 school aged children. This means that in an average classroom there will be at least 3 students with asthma. Schools and staff can work together with the wider school community to provide a healthy and safe educational environment for students with asthma. Student health and safety are essential in schools to allow all students to achieve their best. How does asthma affect students? Asthma is a leading cause of a bsenteeism in school students, which in severe cases can cause them to fall behind in their work. Asthma symptoms commonly occur overnight, which can mean a lack of sleep for the student, leading to a reduced ability to concentrate in class.Students can also show signs of worsening asthma, especially after vigorous exercise, and may have an asthma attack while at school, which requires an immediate response. Whose responsibility is it? Responsibility for the management of a student’s asthma is shared. Parents should: * Inform the school that their child has asthma * Provide sufficient information and equipment to school staff to allow them to support the child at school * Advise if there has been a change in the child’s health, or in their medical management * Ensure the child has their reliever medication with them each day at school   See  Information for parents of school-aged kids with asthma. Schools should: Encourage parents to provide up to date information about their child with asthma * Enable and encourage staff to attend training and obtain information about asthma and how to manage an asthma emergency * Ensure sufficient equipment is available and accessible for use in an emergency * Have policies that support the staff to act appropriately and effectively in an asthma emergency, including during off-site activities * Allow students to access (or carry with them) their reliever medication at all times, unless the child is too young to be responsible for using their medication appropriately   See  Asthma Friendly Schools  for more information about how schools can support kids with asthma. Teachers and school staff can get free  Asthma Training  and  teaching resources. Students should: * Take their regular  preventer  medication (generally taken at home in the mornings and/or evenings) as advised by their doctor * Know how to recognise when their asthma is getting worse and what to do * Carry reliever medication wi th them at all times * Tell their friends that they have asthma, and what to do if they have an asthma attack *   If you’ve recently been diagnosed with asthma, or you think you or a member of your family might have asthma, then you need to get some basic facts.Find out  what causes asthma, and  what happens  in your airways to cause  asthma symptoms. Get an explanation of the process for  diagnosis, including tests that can be done. Develop an understanding of what  triggers  are around you, and what sort ofseasonal issues  might affect your asthma. It’s also common for people with asthma to have other  related conditions, such asallergies,  hayfever,  eczema  and even  COPD. We also have anasthma dictionary  to explain commonly used asthma terms. * Once you’ve got all that information, you might want to go and have a look the  managing asthma section, where you can find out aboutmedications, and how you can  take control  of your asthma. http://www. asthmafoundation. org. au