Happily Ever After

“Living happily ever after” is not just a phrase that is used in movies but it actually means living a “happily ever after” life in real life too. According to the argument put forwarded by Aristotle, goals in life are valued on the basis of their importance simply to the degree that they connect to happiness in the end. In the research related to Subjective Well-Being i.e. SWB, the good life is equal to extent of happiness. It has been accepted time and again that it is a common desire among the human beings to seek and find happiness as a major life goal (Aristotle 24).

Purpose of Life

When we talk about meaningful life, it usually includes a determined wish to achieve something or a sense of solid intention. A good and well-lived life is one that is characterized by meaningful prospects and actions. It is a fact that a lot of people who seek happiness try to find it by having a sense of meaning. Most of the human beings struggle really hard to find a genuine purpose in life as a common goal. It is extremely necessary to mention here that an individual may have bad and painful experiences but may still hold on to a strong determination and certainty about a unified purpose. As far as moral goodness in Aristotle’s view is concerned, he holds the opinion that one’s life must be devoted to acquire a meaningful purpose especially one by which others get benefitted on an unconditional basis (Cameron).

Aristotle’s writings

Aristotle’s writings are considered as those which have great influence on the mindset of the Western society and civilization. In his work Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle has significantly explored the ideas related to moral values, God, character and happiness. He has debated a number of issues related to the mentioned subject areas. Moral virtue has been defined by him as an outlook to conduct oneself in the desirable way and as a representation of extremes of insufficiency and surplus both of which are considered as vices (Aristotle 159).

Happiness Attained by Soul Satisfaction

According to his opinions as found in a number of literatures related to psychology of happiness, a happy life is attainable only if the soul (along with its every part) carries out its functions in the most appropriate manner. He has been reported to reiterate every now and then that a well-lived life is only attainable if the desirable functions are performed by the individual with the highest degree of morality and excellence. It is rather difficult to ignore the prevailing fact that the developed societies are undergoing a number of problems even though there has been tremendous advancement in every aspect of life. In a majority of cases, people do not find it easy to point out what is the lacking in their prosperous lives. They feel alienated, experience hollow relationships and social structures. This midlife crisis is the result of a lack of morality and sense of looseness derived from it. Thus, Aristotle’s view that eudemonia i.e. happiness must be the ultimate goal of an individual’s life (Cameron).

Attain Spiritual Good

Aristotle believes that the whole human body has a significant function just like every single part has a particular function to perform. And these functions are the main reason why human beings can be easily distinguished from other creatures. He maintains the idea throughout his works that human beings must strive for knowing what is best for them. He believes that such an understanding is necessary to acquire the real meaning of life and happiness. He does not encourage finding happiness in materialistic objects. Rather, he suggests human beings to strive to achieve the highest form of eudaimonia i.e. happiness that makes a person spiritually strong. Aristotle has provided a unique explanation of happiness in his function argument. His idea of living happily is entirely different when compared with a number of scholars of his age. However, he has a logical side to his argument when he insists human beings to function in order to attain spiritual good (King & Napa 157).

Money Can’t Buy Happiness

He insists that happiness has nothing to do with money. It is just a myth that money brings happiness in the lives of people. Very rich and prosperous people have pains that cannot be understood by those who have no means to attain the status enjoyed by the former. Thus, it depends on the use of the money whether it is a role in one’s happiness or unhappiness. Aristotle finds money as a dehumanizing element in attaining happiness that lasts long. Thus, it can be said that it is a favor by God if a person has a lot of money. It has nothing to do with morality or being good as a person. A good and a well-lived life have nothing to do with monetary benefits achieved and enjoyed by any human being. A well-lived life is one wherein a person enjoys the moral goodness, a sense of conscience and “not only the amount of meaningful activity engaged in but also the amount of happiness the person enjoys” (King & Napa 164). When money is compared with meaningful purpose, morality and happiness, it can be observed that the former has little value in life.

Conclusion

In a general sense, Aristotle’s function argument reveals that the good of human beings lies in the supremacy of raison d’être.

References

Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics. USA: Filiquarian Publications, 2007. Print.

Cameron, D. “Aristotle Got It Right; Well-Being, Not Just Wealth, Should Mark the Progress of Our Societies.” Newsweek International 7 May 2007: n. pag. Questia. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. <http://www.questia.com/read/1G1-162808221/aristotle-got-it-right-well-being-not-just-wealth>.

King, L. A, & Napa C. K. “What Makes a Life Good?.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 75.1 (1998): 156-165.MYSMU. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. <http://www.mysmu.edu/faculty/cscollon/King_Napa_1998.pdf>.

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We’re currently living in an exceedingly post Synder’s Cut – properly acknowledged on HBO Max as Zack Synder’s Justice League – world, a progress in film that’s undoubtedly still stunning to some fans. The four-hour lengthy film is filled with more and more surprises. The thing which is not a surprise is that Zack Synder’s Justice League is filled with fun and joy.

In the Four-hour long movie, there are many geeky Easter eggs and references the fans have pointed when the movie first came out. Zack Synder’s Justice League is an expanded version of the original Justice League that came in theatre four years ago.

Backstory, of superhero film legend. Director Zack Snyder fought a lot making Justice League, and give life to superhero characters from DC Comics.

In early 2017, when Snyder’s daughter died, the director left the production of Justice League and let Joss Whedon take over who is the director of Marvel’s first two Avengers movies.

The film lost many millions for Warner Bros with a flood of awful reviews. But the loyal fans and some stars from the film kept their believe on the film and convinced Warner Media that releasing Snyder’s Justice League would bring a superhero event to its real place, The HBO Max.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League, brings an entirely different story, different beginning, different ending and broader scope, to give a glimpse of the larger story. Most theatrical release contain the movie’s best scenes, irrespective of what else gets tossed in through a director’s cut.

It makes sense to make a movie because of the fans would passionately work so hard to gratify them. Snyder’s take is an R-rated version. We can see blood and violence than any typical big-budget superhero movies. The major villain of Justice League Steppenwolf, can be seen as a deadlier, less human look, and his mission to prepare Earth for Darkseid’s conquest. Expanded backstories on Ezra Miller’s Flash and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg can also be seen. And, of course, there’s a newly filmed conclusion that rests toward the story of the Injustice graphic novel series. I won’t give any more spoilers go and unlock all the surprises on your own.

There are some problems here, too. This new Justice League is still packed with a lot of computerized effects which make the action feel unreal.

The important story — a group of misfit heroes must team up together to defeat a world- Just as stopping Steppenwolf to finding every single Easter egg is too much of a task for Batman to do it alone or, any one person to do by themselves he has to ask for help to complete the task. We’ll keep you update and give news on Easter eggs.

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Introduction

Dark Ages or Early Middle Ages is that historical time period of the Western Europe that came after the breakdown of the West Roman Empire in the fourth and fifth centuries. It over when the period of the Renaissance started in the 15^th century. The western civilization adopted a number of its ideas and institutions from the unstable and unrestrained events of the Early Middle Ages. It won’t be incorrect to state that the culture in West actually experienced a revolution in the Middle Age. The most important reason why Middle Age can be considered progression in the humanities is that its effects influenced the world greatly. The significance of this specific time period “has been increasingly recognized as scholarship based on newly published source material, archaeological findings, and studies of demographics and migration patterns presents more accurate and detailed analyses of events and trends” (“Middle Ages,” 2013). Thus, the Dark Age is truly a glorious era as considerable advancement was made during this time and the world elevated to a new level of societal and cultural height.

Events that Led to the Advancement

Even though there were slow evolutions and accurate dates are not available so that the Middle Ages can be demarcated, a number of historians agree that the period started with the demise of the Theodosius I (Roman emperor) in 395 and ended the Visigoths conquered Rome in 410. In previous times, the whole period of the Middle Ages was regarded as being the Dark Age. However, now the Early Middle Ages is considered to be the Dark Ages i.e. from 450 to 750 (“Middle Ages,” 2013).

During this time period, there was no uniformity in the Medieval Europe. Though the region was very large geographically, it was divided into minor units that were diverse culturally and politically and no single authority had domination over them. With the Roman Empire’s disintegration, the civilization in Europe was left with Christianity as the standard. The secular authority was acquired by the papacy over time. As a consequence, monastic communities that followed the Rule of St. Benedict were able to preach and spread Latin civilization in the West, particularly in Germany (“Middle Ages,” 2013).

Climate of the Dark Age that led to Advancement

By the 8th century, Christianity had taken a central position and it encouraged the incorporation of Latin traditions in the society. Along with that, Germanic laws were also introduced in this time period. This fusion was very well illustrated in the remote empire that the Charlemagne created. On the other hand, the weak condition of the central authority of the empire broke down further when the Vikings and Magyars invaded a number of regions (“Middle Ages,” 2013). Thus, the Europe gave the look of a mess with the collapse of Rome. However, Ireland was not affected by the ongoing events. It remained a comparatively solid and organized society where monastic settlements were present instead of towns/cities. At the same time as Europe was tunneling in the Dark Age sludge, Ireland was illuminated by the light of civilization. In fact, it was due to the torch that was carried by Irish monks that Europe got its civilization back. It won’t be incorrect to mention that the Irish monks gifted Europe with the richly-illustrated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells etc. and these manuscripts may be considered as the most valuable art of Europe during Dark Age. The Irish landscape is also dotted with magnificently glorious round that silently remind the viewer of the Dark Age (Charles-Edwards, 2000).

Effects of Advancement on the World

During this period, Feudalism turned out to be the distinctive social and political structure in Europe with agriculture at its base. This modern framework further strengthened when Christianity was accepted by invaders in the 11^th century resulting in an agricultural prosperity that not increased productivity in the region but also became a major factor in the expansion of population (“Middle Ages,” 2013).

With the coming of the High Middle Ages, the church was recognized as the universal institution that unified people. The Crusades expressed a strong militant religious enthusiasm and fanaticism that was largely due to the European strength that was increasing day by day. The intellectual life was stimulated by protection and affluence that was also supported by the church. The Arab culture was also introduced in Europe at the same time as Crusades made contacts with the Arabs. Due to this contact, Europe also got hold of the works of Greek authors that were being preserved by the Arabs. The Dark Age is also of particular importance as “philosophy, science, and mathematics from the Classical and Hellenistic periods were assimilated into the tenets of the Christian faith and the prevailing philosophy of scholasticism” (“Middle Ages,” 2013).

It was also in the Dark Ages that the Crusades enhanced the ultimate model of militant knighthood. The Knights Templars and the Knights Hospitalers that were the two monastic knighthood orders trained soldiers who pledged to maintain and defend the ideals introduced by Christianity. Feudalism gave birth to the ethical ideals’ system of chivalry that included major virtues of goodness, nobility, bravery, politeness, chastity and trustworthiness (Ridyard, 1999). The knights were expected to prove their chivalry not only in the battlefield but also in other tournaments. The Middle Ages had the Knights Code of Chivalry as a major part of its culture and everyone understood it.

Evolution of the Dark Age

The financial stability, centralization of politics and secularization foretold the transition of the world from a medieval period to modernism. Serfdom was made deteriorated by a money economy and the age of exploration was stimulated by the spirit of inquiry that Dark Age introduced in the society. The increasing monasteries were supported by the system of banking, secularized concepts and the bourgeois class as the towns grew and thrived. However, modernism and domestic conflicts weakened the position of churches and the state opposed a number of ideals that churches supported. With the sapping of feudalism, European nation-states emerged especially in England and France after the Wars of the Roses and 100 Years Wars (“Middle Ages,” 2013).

Historical research done by the scientists has been successful in the unveiling of numerous rich developments of the Middle Ages. The fields that were mainly affected by this period were that of technology, literature, philosophy, music and art. It was in the Dark Age that man made the wheeled plow, acquired the knowledge of scholasticism, made himself familiar with Latin and vernacular literature, came to know the Romanesque and Gothic art and was introduced to counterpoint. Politically, the Dark Age introduced the modern concepts of constitution and judiciary. Economically, the system of banking came to light. Educationally, the Dark Age gave birth to university education (Dawson, 2003).

Conclusion

Thus, the Dark Ages came to an end effectively in the mid 1400 when the Renaissance reached its glorious height. The European continent, without a doubt, suffered and experienced disastrous wars, severe famine and virulent diseases during the Dark Ages.

References

Charles-Edwards, T. M. (2000). Early Christian Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.

Dawson, C. (2003). The Making of Europe: An Introduction to the History of European Unity. London: The Catholic University of America Press.

Middle Ages from The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. (n.d.). Questia. Retrieved September 11, 2013, from http://www.questia.com/read/1E1-MiddleAg/middle-ages

Ridyard, S. J. (1999). Chivalry, Knighthood, and War in the Middle Ages. Sewanee, Tenn.: Univ. of the South Press.

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Cloud computing in healthcare industry has turned out to be an extremely advantageous technology. However, it needs to be considered that this particular technology has both its pros and cons. As far as the issues are concerned, there are numerous security and privacy challenges associated with healthcare cloud computing. In fact, there may be private, personal, or Data maintained in a cloud may contain personal, private or classified data in a cloud that could be misused or disclosed without improper safety measures (Koontz, 2013). For the same reason, healthcare organizations throughout the globe are hesitant to adopt cloud due to the many concerns associated to data privacy, compliance, and jurisdiction.

Challenges of Cloud Computing

One of the major challenges related to cloud computing is data privacy. For each entity, the patient data is confidential. The protection of individual information is not just a technical challenge; it is also a great moral and legal concern. Whereas privacy protection in all computing systems is technically complex, it is more complicated in a cloud setting due to “the distributed nature of clouds and the possible lack of awareness on the part of the potential cloud service customers regarding where data is stored and who has or can have access” (Koontz, 2013). Thus, cloud  is one of those progressed technologies that demonstrate vulnerability towards cyber gaps. As a consequence, the electronic health records of patients can be easily accessed through breaches and hacking methods.

It is, therefore, extremely significant to identify, understand, and address the privacy challenges related to cloud computing in the healthcare organizations. Sensitive data has been reported to be breached by the hackers in several incidences resulting in tremendous repercussions for the technologically-victimized individual. Thus, an excessively premium and effective security measure is essential for preventing the probabilities of data loss (Zeadally & Badra, 2015).

References

Koontz, L. D. (2013). Information privacy in the evolving healthcare environment. Chicago: HIMSS.

Zeadally, S., & Badra, M. (2015). Privacy in a digital, networked world: Technologies, implications and solutions. Switzerland: Springer.

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Introduction

In the last three decades, there has been considerable quantitative research done by the researchers concerning bullying in schools and this research has been very useful in knowing its pros and cons. This research has helped in the determination and evaluation of the extent of bullying as a major problem. Researchers have also determined the causes and consequences of bullying.

Strong points of Bullying

It has also found out the culprits who are usually involved in bullying along with their types and genders. Both the offenders and victims experience and suffer tremendously due to the menace of bullying. According to the quantitative research, there are a number of adverse effects of bullying on the psychology and social behavior of the sufferers (see Kim & Leventhal, 2008; Kumpulainen, 2008; Nansel, Craig, Overpeck, Saluja, Ruan, and the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Bullying Analyses Working Group (2004); Srabstein & Piazza 2008). Research on bullying has also been successful in exploring the behavioral patterns and views related to it. Not only this, the phenomenon is now well understood. Despite the fact that research done on the mentioned issue is almost always quantitative, researchers have also studied this issue by using qualitative methods for the collection of data. They have spent the last decade in analyzing this gathered data for studying the menace of bullying.  These studies that are just few in number have been truly helpful in uncovering the intricacies involved in bullying and unfair treatment towards others. The unveiling of these complexities has consequently disclosed the meagerness of the preparation of the bullying construct. It won’t be incorrect to state that this problem needs to be researched in a consistent manner.

Different Perspectives of Bullying

The bullying construct and the problems associated with it have been identified by a number of authors.  According to Arora (1996), Madsen (1996) and Bosworth et al. (1999), bullying has been defined differently in various surveys. However, regardless of its various definitions, it is possible that the people who answered the surveys had different concepts/ideas and this is the reason why their answers didn’t match up with the definitions that the survey included. For this reason, it is not astonishing that the survey data needs validity and verification. In the recent times, various researchers have necessitated to research on bullying considering it from a point of view that is social-ecological (Swearer & Doll, 2001; Swearer & Espelage, 2004). The reason behind this call is the conjectural perspective that has grown out of the contributions of Bronfenbrenner (1977, 1979) and Cairns & Cairns (1991).

The Social Relational Theory and The Theory of Status Relationships

Theories related to social-ecological perspectives place the individual in a context that is nested in his/her role in society. These social contexts consist of his near and dear ones including the family members, relatives, friends, acquaintances, school fellows, office colleagues, neighbors, the society and the general public. The theoretical work done in the contemporary times suggest that bullying can be understood really well by viewing it from this social-ecological perspective.

On the other hand, this perspective is really broad and because of this breadth, it is not possible for the social-ecological theory to figure out and get to the bottom of the inter-personal and related variables that act as contributors for bullying to exist. By knowing all there is to know, social ecological theory makes it easier for the researchers to have a bird’s eye view on the issue. However, this theory is unsuccessful in shedding light and focusing on the interactions that act as major contributors to the dynamics related to both bullies and victims of bullying. As a consequence, it is suggested that for understanding bullying and the aggression related to it that is mostly observed in teenagers; it is necessary to emphasize on the two additional theories related to social-ecological perspective. These two theories are known as the social relational theory and the theory of status relationships. The two mentioned theories begin by introducing relationship elements that intermingle with social contexts. In addition, these theories are also able to deal with bullying characteristics and associated aggression that are most obvious in the high school environment, that is to say intimacy, disagreement, supremacy, and position.

Social-Ecological Framework

The investigators of bullying issue have also proposed a framework related to social-ecological framework that describes the occurrence of bullying and related factors. It is exceedingly important for us to recognize and analyze the social ecology that helps in the establishment and maintenance of the behaviors related with bullying and victimization (Kerns & Prinz, 2002). This understanding and comprehension is necessary for the development and implementation of bullying prevention and intrusion programs that may prove effective in the future. It is an old concept that the individual is influenced and affected by the multiple environments. A lot of research has been done on this notion and people have also written a lot about it. It is not a new idea that family, society and culture play a very important role in molding the personality of an individual and there is a reciprocal interplay between a person and his/her environment (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).  According to the ecological-systems theory, each and every one of the individuals is part of an interconnected system by which individuals are located at the center. This is from this centre that the individual moves out so that he/she could become a part of all the other systems that eventually help him to grow and develop personally/professionally (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).

Bronfenbrenner’s Theory

The interconnectedness of the said systems has been described that ultimately act together for having an impact on the behavior of individuals (Garbarino & DeLara, 2002). Thus, bullying and victimization are being considered as ecological observable facts that are recognized and complete unpredictably (Swearer & Doll, 2001). The Bronfenbrenner’s theory suggests that an infant is an indivisible component of a social network. This social network is consisted of four interrelated systems i.e. microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem.  A number of psychologists have been influenced by Bronfenbrenner’s theory as far as the individual analysis is concerned along with its various environmental systems that have a huge impact. In view of this fact, the ecological systems theory has turned out to be a really significant theory and has also given a basis to the works and contributions of other theorists.

Four Interrelated Systems

The Micro-system is the immediate environment that directly affects people. It consists of one’s family, friends, relatives, colleagues and society. Micro-system is composed of people with whom one has a direct social interaction. According to this theory, people are not simple receivers of the experiences when they socialize with the mentioned social agents. Instead, people are the force that contributes in the micro=system and its construction. The relationship between the micro-systems in an individual’s life makes up the meso-system.  The experiences one has with his family may affect his school life. For instance, neglecting on the part of parents may affect the relationship of a child with teachers at school. The exo-system can be defined as a system that does not allow an individual to play a constructive role in life experiences. However, the micro-systems of the life of such an individual are directly impacted by those non-constructive experiences. For example, if a child has a more close association with his father, he/she may have either a conflicting or a tight bond with his/her mother in case if the father goes abroad for a long period of time. The immediate culture of an individual makes up the involving his/her socioeconomic status, his/her ethnicity, neighborhood etc. For instance, belonging to a poor family may make a person hardworking.

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Innovation

Innovation plays a key role to contribute in the success of the entrepreneurs in the contemporary economic era. Loosmore M (2014) views innovation as the process of bringing new and creative ideas to reality. In fact, “Innovation allows organizations to better meet consumer needs, stay ahead of the competition, capitalize on strategic market opportunities, and align organizational strengths with market opportunities” (Rujirawanich, 2011). Therefore, innovation acts as a key element for the progression and promotion of an organization. With regards to the innovation theories, many researchers believe that such theories are created from general beliefs. The most contiguous theory of innovation where entrepreneurs have enhanced to be creative is Schumpeterian theory of innovation. Schumpeterian defines innovative as people who discover opportunities by introducing new products or new services (Bula, 2012). Therefore, innovation is the creation of new and intelligent ideas to modify the current conditions and to develop them through creative processes. As far as Oman is concerned, the question is: To what extent innovation exists in new firms in Oman? Do Omani universities prepare students to become innovative entrepreneurs (with reference to government supports, regulation, and policies, and other related factors)?

Government Support

With reference to the factors affecting the growth of innovations, government support is one of the major factors that assist to develop innovation and elevate a firm’s performance. Such financial strengths and support are essential to innovation success (Bayarçelika, Taşelb, Apakc, 2014). Moon & Bretschneider (1998) state that the government has a positive involvement in the innovation process as well as the development process. A study conducted by Jiannan, Liang, & Yuqian (2007) suggests that internal motive forces and external pressures on local government are the two major factors causing innovations. Hence, the policies and legislations established by the government have a considerable role to develop innovations at the national level.

Cultural and Social Beliefs

The cultural and social beliefs and principles that have an effect on people’s desire to innovate is yet another element for the innovation (Bayarçelika, Taşelb, Apakc, 2014). Berent, Uhlaner, Jeurissen, & Wit (2010) found in their study that “less innovative organizations are also less concerned about the environment”. In contrast, more innovative organizations are more concerned about the environment. According to Elenkov & Manev (2005), “sociocultural context directly influences leadership and moderates its relationship with organizational innovation”.  Thus, the cultural and social system (refer to as the environmental fragment) have a significant role to shape a firm’s performance by bringing in innovative ideas.

Human Resource

Human resources (individuals) are another factor that influences the drive of innovation. Individuals’ management skills and institutional structure are imperative factors that affect the performance (Bayarçelika, Taşelb, Apakc, 2014). Pratoom & Savatsomboon (2012) investigated and concluded that a lot of studies show “that community product producer with high level of self-leadership” characters “are more likely to be successful innovative entrepreneurs”. Lee & Lee (2014) consider entrepreneur’s labor and hard work as the key elements to the successfulness of a firm, and not the human capital. Therefore, individual characters can turn out to be the motivational drivers for firms’ performance and success.

Harvard School of Business Theory

In the context of government support, cultural elements, and individuals characteristics that affect the driving of innovation in any firm, Harvard School of Business Theory refer successful entrepreneur as internal and external factors (Mohanty, 2005). Industrial elements such as development of new products or services, marketing orientations, usage of technologies and creative strategies are counted as significant industrial factors for the creation of innovations. Barbosa, Faria, & Eiriz, (2013) indicate that “industry context have power to shape the firm’s innovation choices”. Zakić, Jovanović, & Stamatović, (2008) point out that the “Empiric researches confirm the influence of industry maturity on type of innovation”. Vega‐Vázquez, Cossío‐Silva, & Martín‐Ruíz, (2012) found a positive relationship between market orientation and new product success and their influence in innovation. Schumpeter theory of innovation regards the success of entrepreneur to the product design and development (Piore, 2007).

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is also a critical key in developing countries within the economic engine. For the same reason, it has become a significant topic for researchers and policy makers. However, there is no specific definition to explain it because companies demonstrate differences in terms of employment, profitability, resources, sales, and other aspects. Therefore, these variables have been the basis of definition. Doepfer (2012) refers to entrepreneurship as the process of pursuing new opportunities by individuals to create market innovations.

Relationship between Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The relationship between innovation and entrepreneurship has been observed by many researchers and economists. Many studies show that firms’ performance is strongly linked to innovations. Hatzikian (2012) cited from European commission 2004 and concluded that innovation plays a central role in business achievement. It needs to be mentioned that innovations and entrepreneurship in Oman are still infant topics due to the lack of applied studies and the scarcity of qualified experts. Therefore, it is anticipated that this study will contribute to determine the future direction and assist decision makers in building effective strategies.

Problem Statement

Innovation and entrepreneurship are major concepts in the modern-day economic world. It has become a great concern in Innovation and Entrepreneurship for different reasons among researchers and businesses. Such reasons are epitomized in positive results, employment creation, and economic growth (Naudé, Szirmai, & Goedhuys, 2011), scientific fields, and the increased role of innovation in achieving entrepreneurship in the context of the knowledge economy (Ali, 2011). Meanwhile, the process of entrepreneurship is also considered as an essential requirement for stability in the business world. Therefore, a vital need to merge these concepts and applications in business along with the global development is extremely important. Since the achievement of entrepreneurship is a vital demand of the organizations, it must cope with the variables to compete with other organizations (Papulova, & Papulova, 2009). Furthermore, it is also necessary to avoid the reaction of being far from the edge of pursuing contemporary organizations. In Oman, numerous steps are being taken by the government, private sector, local communities, and individuals in this regard. However, these initiatives pose a real challenge because of the lack of coherence with the standardized system. It is imperative to note that the governmental contribution is certainly an innovation driver as “innovation depicts a role for policy makers, less as innovators in their own right, and more as orchestrators or enablers of innovation” (Social Innovation Europe, 2014). The mentioned are considered as obstacles of driving innovation in new firms in Oman. Thus, the performance of the firms is affected by them.

Research Questions

This study attempts to answer the following question:

What are the individual, cultural, governmental, and industrial factors related to innovation creation & entrepreneurial performance in Oman? Is there a momentous relationship between these factors and innovation creation & entrepreneurial performance?

Among the four independent variables, which variable(s) will be the most significant in relation to the innovation creation & entrepreneurial performance in Oman?

Research Objectives

To determine innovation creation dimensions related to entrepreneurial performance

To introduce the concept of creation innovation and entrepreneurship performance as a basic concept to manage modern firms in Oman

To determine the factors affecting the creation of innovations & entrepreneurial performance in Oman

To determine the nature of relationship between each independent variables (individual variables, cultural variables, industrial variables, and government variables) and dependent variable (creation of innovation & entrepreneurial performance in Oman)

To determine the most independent variable that has significant relationship to the innovation creation & entrepreneurial performance in Oman

Significance of the Research

Entrepreneurship is considered as one of the hot topics in the context of knowledge of economics as well as technological and scientific development. Since business world has become more competitive and more challenging, managers, leaders and governments must be more aware concerning the importance of related topics (Storey, 2003).

Entrepreneurship and innovation needs more researches for more studies. Meanwhile, Oman is still in its initial phase in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship. Due to the lack of research and application of the research in the country, this research will have a crucial role to clarify some major concepts and facts related to the development of best strategies.

Theoretical Framework

The study will rely on two theories; innovation theory by Schumpeter and Harvard Business School’s Theory of Entrepreneurship. According to Schumpeter, “innovation reduces the competition” (Soriano, 2013) and lead to increasing opportunities for success attainment by introducing unique products or processes. On the other hand, Harvard Business School’s theory introduces entrepreneurial functions and environmental functions as internal and external factors respectively influencing the entrepreneurial performance (Mohanty, 2005).

Based on above theories, research questions, and objectives, the framework adopts four independent variables – Government supports (GV), Cultural factors (CF), Individual characteristics (IC), and Industrial factors (IF).  These four variables hypothesize to affect two major dependent variables – Innovation Creation and Entrepreneurial Performance (IC & EP) in Oman’s new firms. The figure below illustrates these variables

Scope of the Study

The scope of the study expands to analyze almost 300 new firms with the utilization of mixed-method (interview and questionnaire). These firms will be determined by the General Authority for the Development of Small & Medium Enterprises. Four independent variables namely GS, CF, IC & IF will be hypothesized to dependent variables namely IC & EP in Oman’s new firms. All these variables will be tested and theoretically underpinned by two economic theories namely; Schumpeter’s theory of innovation and Harvard Business School’s theory of Entrepreneurship (Chetty, 2010).

Hypotheses

In order to resolve the problem at hand (and depending on the variables of the study), the following hypotheses is created:
H1: individual variables are significantly related to innovation creation & entrepreneurial performance in Oman

H2: cultural variables are significantly related to innovation creation & entrepreneurial performance in Oman

H3: industrial variables are significantly related to innovation creation & entrepreneurial performance in Oman

H4: government variables are significantly related to innovation creation & entrepreneurial performance in Oman.

Methodology

In this study, a mixed-method and multiple case studies will be applied to gain accurate results (for complementary purposes) (Sale, Lohfeld, & Brazil, 2002). Both quantitative and qualitative approaches will be designed for implementation in the group of innovative entrepreneurs. In addition, an in-depth analysis of at least 20 case studies of new firms (with 5 or less number of employees) in Oman will be conducted. These approaches will be used to collect and analyze data for a single study and among case studies to allow for more understanding and accuracy. The mixed-method and multiple case studies address these gaps between current available resources and factors related to the development of innovations as well as the outcome of innovation levels and enterprises’ excellence. These would ultimately assist for the development of best strategies and practices to drive innovation for the purpose of entrepreneurs’ accomplishments.

In the quantitative approach, the researcher relies on numerical data. The segments’ views are used for developing knowledge including linkage of causes and effects, theories’ investigation, and reduction of specific variables, hypothesis, and questions. Therefore, isolation of specific variables with regularity and accuracy of relationships will be done to deeply investigate and determine instruments. As a consequence, it will return highly reliable and valid scores. For the same reason, a questionnaire method will be utilized for collecting data from at least 300 new firms in Oman.

Alternatively, the qualitative approach provides advanced insight to understand the issues by underlying additional openings, views, and reasons. It links related theory and the empirical results (Kovalainen, & Eriksson, 2008). Moreover, it assists in generation of reliable variables, hypothesis, and questions.  In this study, a semi-structure interviewing method will be employed for data collection from certain innovative entrepreneurs to elucidate in-depth views and concerns. The qualitative method will be used in the first stage to facilitate the development of the research hypotheses and questions and the modification of variables. It will also be helpful in the development of the quantitative approaches. It is intended that this approach will be applied to at least 20 new firms in Oman.

Case studies will be used for an all-encompassing analysis of 20 firms and innovative entrepreneurs in order to explore research questions (Devos, 2014). It will also allow a comprehensive analysis about the causes and effects of the phenomenon. Also, they will be utilized for application on 20 firms for supplementary analysis and accurate results. This method is useful to explore the conditions and causes behind the failures to drive innovation (Texas State Auditor’s Office).

A provisional timetable for the project is as follows:

References

Banerjee, P. (2002). Narration, discourse, and dialogue: Issues in the management of inter-cultural innovation. Springer-Verlag London Limited.

Bayarçelik, E. B., Taşel, F., & Apak, S. (2014). A Research on Determining Innovation Factors for SMEs. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences,150, 202-211. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.09.032.

Bula, H. (2012). Evolution and Theories of Entrepreneurship: A Critical Review on the Kenyan Perspective. International Journal of Business and Commerce, 1 (11), 81-96.

Devos, J. (2014). Information Systems for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises State of Art of IS Research in SMEs. Berlin: Springer Berlin.

Doepfer, B. C. (2012). Co-innovation competence: a strategic approach to entrepreneurship in regional innovation structures. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler.

Hatzikian, Y. (2013). Exploring the Link between Innovation and Firm Performance. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 6(4), 749-768. doi:10.1007/s13132-012-0143-2

Günther, E., & Hüske, A. (2014). How stakeholder shape innovation in controversial industries: the biotechnology industry in Germany. Uwf UmweltWirtschaftsForum, 23(3), 77-86. doi:10.1007/s00550-014-0343-2

Jiannan, W, Liang, M. & Yuqian, Y. (2007). The Local Governments’ Impetus for Innovations, their Characteristics and the Related Performance: An Analysis of the Test of Cases Adopted from “The Awards for Innovation to China’s Local Governments”. Retrieved February 27, 2017 from http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-GLSJ200708007.htm.

Kovalainen, A. & Eriksson, P (2008). Qualitative Methods in Business Research. SAGE.

Lee, S. M., & Lee, B. (2014). Entrepreneur characteristics and the success of venture exit: an analysis of single-founder start-ups in the U.S. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 11(4), 891-905. doi:10.1007/s11365-014-0324-5

Loosemore, M. (2014). Innovation, strategy and risk in construction: turning serendipity into capability. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Mas-Tur, A., & Soriano, D. R. (2013). The level of innovation among young innovative companies: the impacts of knowledge-intensive services use, firm characteristics and the entrepreneur attributes. Service Business, 8(1), 51-63. doi:10.1007/s11628-013-0186-x

Naudé, W., Szirmai, A., & Goedhuys, M. (2011). Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries. United Nations University, P.1.

Papulova, E.  & Papulova, Z. (2009). COMPETITIVE STRATEGY AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES OF SMALL AND MIDSIZED MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES IN SLOVAKIA. E-Leader, Slovakia 2006.

Pratoom, K., & Savatsomboon, G. (2010). Explaining factors affecting individual innovation: The case of producer group members in Thailand. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 29(4), 1063-1087. doi:10.1007/s10490-010-9246-0

Sale, J., Lohfeld, L. & Brazil, K. (2002). Revisiting the Quantitative-Qualitative Debate: Implications for Mixed-Methods Research. Netherlands : Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Texas State Auditor’s Office, Methodology Manual. Data Analysis: Analyzing Data – Case Studies. Retrieved February 27, 2017 from http://www.preciousheart.net/chaplaincy/Auditor_Manual/13casesd.pdf.

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Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” is an interesting yet inspirational play that revolves around an ostensibly hollow relationship between Brick and Maggie, the two leading characters. As far as Maggie is concerned, her marital life is matched up to the life of a cat living on a hot tin roof. Hence, the play’s title makes the reader comprehend the Brick’s and Maggie’s relationship – a knotty and complicated one. The reason is simple i.e. Brick’s dilemma over his gender inclination. Due to his failure as a homosexual, Brick also detests being a heterosexual. In addition, he is annoyed by Maggie as she is seen worsening the life of Skipper – Brick’s homosexual friend at one occasion (Williams).

It is easily observable that Brick cannot stand Maggie’s presence but still manages to endure her. He neither likes to talk nor respond to her. Their marriage was once great bit eventually malformed. If the truth is told, he tied the knot with her for proving his heterosexuality and succeeded in doing so. However, their marriage fell apart with the passage of time. Whereas Maggie yearns for her husband’s love and attention, Brick is not interested. Believing that she can sustain her troubled married life, she compares herself to the cat who thinks she can live on a hot tin roof. However, she does not get triumphant in winning the love of her husband considering his emptiness and lack of concern for her (Williams). To cut a long story short, it can be said that the relationship between Maggie and Brick is like a broken glass whereby the woman constantly tries to recreate it but fails.

Reference

Williams, Tennessee. Cat on a hot tin roof. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2013. Print.

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Introduction

In the contemporary healthcare industry, nursing has been triumphant in gaining an ever-increasing influence in almost every aspect in the deliverance of healthcare. Therefore, it is significantly imperative for healthcare practitioners to develop and/or polish their leadership skills. As far as graduate level nurses are concerned, it is equally important for them to develop such skills in the early stages of their jobs. The development and constant demonstration of leadership skills could facilitate graduate level nurses to impart their duties in an effective manner.

Skills of Graduate Level Nurses

In the recent times, increased stress is given to the involvement of the patients in the overall planning and accomplishment of quality care. For the same reason, it has become rather indispensable for the graduate level nurses to make honest endeavors for the development of certain leadership attributes. Such endeavors could ultimately make it possible for them deliver individualized and high-quality care to the patients. In this regard, several principal attributes are of utmost importance including contextual knowledge, professionalism, communication skills, empathy, transparency, responsibility, and interpersonal skills. All the mentioned skills are extremely critical for the graduate level nurses for developing and nurturing professional expertise.

Proper Knowledge and Demonstration

To begin with, the vitality of contextual knowledge must not be ignored if a graduate nurse needs to develop himself/herself as a leader in his/her career. In simple words, the attainment of contextual knowledge signifies that the nurse possesses the knowledge of issues and apprehensions associated with this field including financial aspects, healthcare economics, resource accessibility, social services’ availability, and regulations and limitations related to the nursing practice. Second, the demonstration of an empathized nature to oversee the patients’ individual needs and welfare is, without a doubt, an extremely critical attribute. In fact, the exhibition of empathy helps patients to voice their true feelings and concerns ultimately helping in the attainment of preferred health outcomes. As a consequence, the graduate nurses can develop their communication and interpersonal skills by paying heed to the patients’ thoughts and opinions. It needs to be remembered that provision of healthcare is greatly dependent on understanding the experiences of the patients.

Good Relationship with Patients and Colleagues

A leader needs to be sensitive to his followers’ and/or subordinates’ wellbeing. Similarly, when it comes to the patient safety and wellbeing, a graduate level nurse also needs to develop attributes of compassion and sympathy. Nurses exhibiting such valuable traits eventually become role models in the deliverance of quality care. Interpersonal skills also play a great role in helping graduate nurses to enjoy peaceful relationships with both their patients and colleagues. In particular, excellent social skills allow them to have fewer conflicts with their counterparts. When a nurse understands the importance of a healthy and peaceful workplace environment, he/she is able to build a harmonious environment in which strong relationships with other healthcare professional, patients, and their family members are nurtured. In the same connection, graduate nurses learn to develop professional attributes as they tend to remain aware of their personal and professional expectations and balance them accordingly.

Professionalism

As far as professionalism is concerned, it is all about the creation and maintenance of healthy interpersonal relationships in one’s professional life. When a nurse tends to become a professional, he/she believes in his/her contribution as an effective team member who is highly motivated to impart his duties and responsibilities with high accuracy and efficiency. Similarly, one can never ignore the significance of accountability in the healthcare industry as peoples’ lives are on stake. It is absolutely imperative that nurses act in a just manner and acknowledge their mistakes/errors.

As a graduate level nurse, I believe that I need to develop certain leadership skills to become more competent in my field. I am looking forward to exhibit a more professional behavior through the acquisition of contemporary demands of the nursing field. It is my belief that educating oneself on a constant basis is remarkably important for the demonstration of professionalism. If the truth is told, my personal and professional experiences have helped me in developing certain leadership attributes that could help me in my nursing career in the long run. I possess strong emotional intelligence, excellent communication skills, and a concrete work ethic. My passion for my work helps me to help my colleagues as an efficient team player. The possession of all the mentioned characteristics helps me in comprehending individual situations and unique patient needs. However, there is always a room for improvement and I believe that I need to concentrate on other areas to work as an effective leader.

Conclusion

To cut a long story short, “there’s a leadership hierarchy in nursing that ranges from individual performance and productive teamwork to inspiring higher performance in others and creating enduring excellence, and each one of us must be challenged to keep developing over the course of our careers” (McBride, 2011). At every stage of nursing, it is necessary for the healthcare facilities and organizations to develop training and mentoring programs for nurses so that they can attain distinctive leadership skills. In fact, it must be understood by all healthcare organizations that investment in nursing development programs is essential for the organizational success (Kelly, Runge, & Spencer, 2015). Similarly, graduate level nurses also need to realize the criticality of their jobs and strive hard to develop and retain the essential attributes of leadership to progress in their professional lives.

References

Kelly, L., Runge, J., & Spencer, C. (2015). Predictors of Compassion Fatigue and Compassion Satisfaction in Acute Care Nurses. Journal Of Nursing Scholarship, 47(6), 552-528.

Mcbride, A. B. (2011). Taking Leadership Seriously. AJN, American Journal of Nursing, 111(3), 11. doi:10.1097/10.1097/01.naj.0000395214.70390.fc

Thistlethwaite, J., & McKimm, J. (2016). Health care professionalism at a glance. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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Introduction

The way telemedicine has revolutionized the healthcare industry is astonishing. Just few decades back, it was an impossible thing to imagine that a patient can be treated without actually visiting a doctor. Times have changed and so have healthcare industry and the treatment options. This paper talks about the numerous ways telemedicine has played a significant role in improving and transforming nursing informatics in particular and healthcare industry in general. It also discusses how the availability and convenient use of telemedicine services have benefitted people throughout the developed and developing world. In the last section, the reasons telemedicine has an illuminating future have been mentioned along with various criticisms of the technology.

Telemedicine

In the contemporary healthcare industry, cost-effectiveness, quality, accessibility, and equity are major issues faced by the clients/patients. In fact, these issues are experienced by people in both developing and developed countries. With the introduction and employment of the modern-day Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) including smart phones, computers, and the Internet, the researchers and innovators have been successful in alleviating the health problems considering the convenience and inexpensiveness of such technologies. In this regard, the term telemedicine refers to “the use of modern information technology, especially two-way interactive audio/video communications, computers, and telemetry, to deliver health services to remote patients and to facilitate information exchange between primary care physicians and specialists at some distances from each other” (Darkins & Cary, 2000). When it comes to nursing informatics, the development and expansion of telemedicine has considerably changed the ways nurses serve consumers and patients.

Contribution of Telemedicine

Telemedicine has remarkably contributed to nurture a value-based and high-quality environment for the enhancement of patient engagement and satisfaction along with better accessibility and reduced costs. Distance is the basic determinant in the utilization of telemedicine as healthcare professionals use ICTs to remote areas considering the inaccessibility and inconvenience. Thus, ICTs makes it possible for the doctors and patients to share the pertinent details for apt and timely diagnosis, evaluation, research, treatment, and prevention of the disease/medical condition. Nursing informatics has segmented telemedicine into various applications such as cardiological, neurological, dermatological, and respiratory categories to be used in the management of various pathologies, conditions, and diseases.

Alternative of Traditional Method

Furthermore, people in their final stages of AIDS/HIV are benefiting from telemedicine as their human contact is decreased. Yet, the patients are accepted, respected, and treated through telemedicine (Breen & Matusitz, 2009). Similarly, telemedicine has guaranteed patient satisfaction due to a decrease in travelling time, waiting time, and minimization of other issues related to appointments and follow-ups. Telemedicine has turned out to be an incredibly life-saving alternative to traditional methods of healthcare counseling particularly for terminal and debilitated populations living in remote regions.

Telemedicine in Mercy Health System

Mercy Health System (a hospital without a bed) is a virtual care center wherein nurses and doctors keep working around the clock. This one-of-a-kind healthcare facility in the United States offers remote support to 38 smaller hospitals situated in states from Oklahoma to North Carolina (for emergency rooms, intensive-care units, and various other programs). A majority of these hospitals have no on-site physician 24/7. Mercy Virtual President reported a 30% decrease in the number of deaths than anticipated. Also, a 35% decrease in the average length stay of the patients was made possible due to the provision of telemedicine services at the facility. The observations indicate that the lives of 1000+ people were saved with the special assistance provided through telemedicine. According to a trade group, the American Telemedicine Association, remote medical care was provided to more than 15 million Americans in 2015 alone which ultimately grew by 30% the next year (Breen & Matusitz, 2009).

International Impact

On an international level, there has been a considerable interest to bring improvements in the healthcare industry’s safety, quality, cost-effectiveness, and cleanliness through telemedicine. McLean conducted a study to investigate and analyze the impact of telemedicine on the quality and safety of the healthcare. It was revealed that the improvement in the quality of life of patients was apparent. Also, improvements were observed in patients of asthma and chronic heart failure (McLean, Sheikh, Cresswell, Nurmatov, Mukherjee, Hemmi, & Pagliari, 2013).

Telenursing

Information technology usage has actually evolved the nursing roles specifically within home settings. Telehealth nursing or telenursing is focused on patients’ long-term physical wellness and self-management. It can be said that telemedicine has empowered the present-day nurses with a better ability to supervise, gather data, inform, follow-up, and offer multidisciplinary care comprising of pain management, distant involvements, and family support. According to a report, “agencies using telehealth have an average patient-to-nurse ratio of 15:1, as compared with non-telehealth agencies having a ratio of 11:1” (Bashir & Bastola, 2018). Consequently, a remarkable difference could be made if telemedicine is effectively used for the provision of patient care to underserved regions experiencing nursing shortage and inaccessible health care.

Nursing and Telemedicine

The lack of specialists in rural areas results in a majority of patients being devoid of well-timed health care interventions. This gap could be easily filled up if more and more home health agencies with telemedicine facilities train their nurses to care for chronic patients while utilizing ICTs. Such provision of care and sense of security allows the nurses to intervene and manage patient condition under expert physician care (Bashir & Bastola, 2018).

Nurse Informatics Uses

As indicated by the above discussion, there is a rare involvement of hands-on patient care in nursing informatics. As an alternative, nurses make use of technologies and tools to assess the patients’ progress via telemedicine. For instance, blood glucose, blood pressure, and heart rate and other vital signs are recorded and evaluated by using tools. Such equipment is usually set up in the domestic setting wherein the patient is placed. The nurse informaticists educate the patients and their family members about the usage of equipment and how to troubleshoot them if a technical issue arises. Similarly, professionals engaged in nurse informatics also facilitate other health care personnel to use telemedicine and other related equipment in a proper manner.

It needs to be noted here that not every nurse is aware of the recent methods and technologies used in telemedicine. A patient whose treatment involves telemedicine cannot be just evaluated by any nurse. Instead, a nursing trained in nursing informatics and knows how specific technologies are used can help in taking care of the populations treated under the umbrella of ICTs. However, telemedicine nurses are necessitated to possess the same nursing skills that are a prerequisite for all nurses whereby “excellent organization, critical thinking and communication skills are required also, but the most important skill is to understand the technology and its potential and limitations, and have the intuitiveness in how to utilize it to provide the care needed at the time” (Page, 2013). Therefore, nurses interested in using technology to provide high-quality health care must obtain a nursing informatics certification to start with.

Telemedicine Counseling

Telemedicine counseling also helped in reducing the maternal fatigue affecting mothers who had infants with difficult behaviors. Parents who had infants with extremely low birth weight rates were also provided with emotional support and education. Overall, telemedicine resulted in patient satisfaction whereby it reduced cost and travel time along with increased convenience. In a Canadian review of various telemedicine programs, the rural areas had higher patient satisfaction as compared to the urban areas. In comparison to waiting for longer personal counseling, 76% people preferred telemedicine counseling due to its ease and convenience (Breen & Matusitz, 2009).

Telemedicine Knowledge in US

In developed countries, such as the United States of America, the healthcare industry has incorporated telemedicine. Even though several issues have popped up with the implementation in different states including legality problems and reimbursement, it is extremely important for developing countries to learn with USA example and incorporate telemedicine by means of volunteer efforts in the regions where healthcare professionals are unable to reach. Both governments and stakeholders need to ensure that telemedicine must replace the obsolete alternatives to treat populations in far-away regions.

Criticism on Telemedicine

Even though telemedicine is gaining popularity on a large scale, criticism concerned with the quality of care received through telemedicine has also surfaced. According to the opponents of telemedicine, various barriers hinder the growth of telemedicine in some regions including developing countries considering the inadequacy of the infrastructure for proper utilization of the modern Internet technologies. Also, the instability of the electric power supplies, unreliable connectivity of the Internet, computer viruses, and limited availability of bandwidth hinder the adoption of telemedicine (Breen & Matusitz, 2009).

Financial Cost

In addition, the financial cost associated with telemedicine is also a major barrier to the adoption and application of telemedicine services. Training cost, equipment, maintenance, and transportation expenses can be difficult to be managed for developing and underdeveloped countries. The application of telemedicine is also restricted due to lack of knowledge, resources, and local skills. In many countries, the education required to be a competent nursing informatics professional is not available.

Conclusion

Today, the big promises have started to materialize while telemedicine is being implemented to its full potential. The swiftness of deliverance of health care services and increase in the number of nursing informatics professionals, it has become crystal clear that people could not be treated in hospitals alone; the Internet connections, modified insurance standards, availability and cheap usage of smart phones as well as technologically-aware nursing personnel are changing the conventional modes of delivering health care services.

It has been proved that information and communication technologies like cell phones, the Internet, and computers have the propensity to address the health problems on a global level. It can be done through the deliverance of nursing and health services via telemedicine. Telemedicine contributes in improving the as the health care situation and physical wellbeing of deprived populations in remote areas when health care professionals use ICTs for an exchange of the information for diagnosis, treatment, and provision of education to nursing staff and health care providers (though in limited numbers) in such areas. Similarly, the healthcare’s safety, quality, cost-effectiveness, and cleanliness have considerably enhanced worldwide through telemedicine. Though there are various hindrances to the application of telemedicine in developing countries, a focused approach towards its implementation may result in miraculous outcomes for poor nations as the health of the local people is improved.

With certain challenges such as limited coverage by insurers, diagnosing difficulties, and privacy issues, telemedicine is evolving with each passing day. The fact that remote areas have no access to healthcare facilities as well as the increasing aged population signifies that telemedicine will flourish in the future despite the mentioned challenges. One cannot simply ignore the advantages of telemedicine. In this regard, healthcare professionals can play a major role “through the development of strategic, industrywide best practices and regulations” along with the preservation of patient-nurse and patient-physician relationships (“How Will Telemedicine Impact the Future of Health Care”? 2016)

References

Bashir, A., & Bastola, D. R. (2018, May 25). Perspectives of Nurses Toward Telehealth Efficacy and Quality of Health Care: Pilot Study. Retrieved April 11, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5993972/

Breen, G., & Matusitz, J. (2009). An Evolutionary Examination of Telemedicine: A Health and Computer-Mediated Communication Perspective. Social Work in Public Health, 25(1), 59-71. doi:10.1080/19371910902911206

Darkins, A. W., & Cary, M. A. (2000). Telemedicine and Telehealth: Principles, Policies, Performances and Pitfalls. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

How Will Telemedicine Impact the Future of Health Care? (2016, November 03). Nursing@Georgetown. Retrieved April 11, 2019, from https://online.nursing.georgetown.edu/blog/future-of-telemedicine/

McLean, S., Sheikh, A., Cresswell, K., Nurmatov, U., Mukherjee, M., Hemmi, A., & Pagliari, C. (2013). The impact of telehealthcare on the quality and safety of care: a systematic overview. PloS one, 8(8), e71238. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071238

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Introduction

With the ingression of a mental illness (such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia) in a family, it is not the patient/sufferer who gets affected alone; the family members are also impacted emotionally (and financially). Considering the unique domestic dynamics and circumstances of such a household, family members make endeavors to help the affected by seeking psychological assistance. Thus, a family system is considerably impacted when a member experiences psychological problems (May, 2018).

Issues Faced by the Family

Several issues could be faced by the family members while handling mental illness. In most cases, the mental illness becomes the principal focus of the family ultimately making other issues insignificant. A major issue is that such a situation creates rifts among family members as each member perceives the mental illness differently failing to think of a unanimous decision about the treatment/resolution of the illness. Almost all households wherein there is a mental illness case, the prevalence of feelings of vulnerability, frustration, hurt, and guiltiness prevails (May, 2018). It needs to be mentioned here that family structure and domestic environment play a significant role in contributing to the mental health and behavioral patterns of a person.  Non-supportive families can diminish or neglect a member’s psychological wellbeing ultimately contributing in the causation of a mental illness or its deterioration. In a majority of scenarios, psychologically victimized individuals are dependent on the support of their family. In the absence of this reliability, the entire process of recovery is affected in a negative manner (Boyd, 2018).

Hereditary Mental Disorders

It seems that bipolar disorders, autism, and schizophrenia affect the brain in a similar manner. For the same reason, gene activity is often analyzed by the researchers as a measure to comprehend the causative factors of such psychological states. Individuals who have particular gene variants by birth are more vulnerable to get affected by autism, schizophrenia, and other bipolar disorders (Hamzelou, 2018). It needs to be mentioned here that “scientists have discovered that no single gene is responsible for a mental disorder, several susceptibility genes may interact with one another, and the environment influences genetic expression to increase the risk of developing a mental disorder” (Ritter & Lampkin, 2011)

When things fall apart and personal disaffection or distancing happens, it may not be a continuing process. Time heals the hurt and resentment. Similarly, motivational approach and honest efforts could be used for correcting the biased views concerning mental illness. It is the family that decides what is best for the healthiest environment within the four walls of its home. Motivated people can surprisingly change their thought processes.

Awareness and Acknowledgement of the Illness

Families are irreplaceable. An individual with a disturbing mental condition may get the best treatment when supported by the family. There are a number of ways family members can cope with a mental illness. To begin with, the family members need to learn and acknowledge the diagnosis. However, it is necessary to never describe the patient as the illness. Also, it is extremely important to maintain a positive relationship with the sufferer by being encouraging, supportive, and spending quality time with him/her. Most importantly, a person suffering from a mental illness needs to be understood by his/her family members as his thought process is abnormal. A family needs to be mindful of the patient’s condition and encourage him/her to participate in daily life activities. It is also indispensable to understand that such patients could employ violent means and may attempt suicides. Therefore, it is required to be aware of the nearest mental inpatient facility where the patient could be taken in such a dreadful emergency (May, 2018)

References

Boyd, M. (2018). Psychiatric nursing: Contemporary practice. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.

Hamzelou, J. (2018, February 8). First glimpse of how genes may cause mental health problems. Retrieved April 15, 2019, from https://www.newscientist.com/article/2160697-first-glimpse-of-how-genes-may-cause-mental-health-problems/

May, J. V. (2018, October 18). Mental Illness Affects the Whole Family | Pine Rest Blog. Retrieved April 14, 2019, from https://www.pinerest.org/mental-illness-affects-whole-family-blog/

Ritter, L. A., & Lampkin, S. M. (2011). Community mental health. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.

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