Cultural Influences on Communication in Groups Assignment - 1

Cultural Influences on Communication in Groups - Assignment Example This is because if a house has a good athlete for a game, then there are very high chances of him/ her winning the gold and thus earning points for the house, which might culminate into the house winning the House Cup. Once a consensus of the representatives was reached on what had to be included then it would be approved by the patron of the society, after which the practices were t follow. Joe initiated the discussion by giving a brief to everyone, regarding what the meeting was about, just as a warm up speech. When he opened the floor for discussion, Artem was the first one to take the lead in the discussion by talking about the general events that are included almost every year such as sprint, relay, 200m and 400m race for boys, Javelin throw, high jump, long jump and discus throw. Once the specifications of all these events were listed down by Joe, the discussion on the real matter that was to be debated began. Up till now Zarina and Aset had behaved more or less like passive li steners of the discussion, contributing just about as a formality here and there. Artem had been vocal throughout. He was more like helping Joe out with sorting out the specifications of all the games, just like someone genuinely interested in sports would do. Ainura was comparatively more participative than Zarina and Aset, she sat back in her seat and paid considerable attention to what was being discussed and also added a few valuable points such as raising the height of the bar for high jump compared to what it was last year and so forth. However, what followed was quite unexpected. Normally one would expect the discussion to continue with the same flow it started with. However, as soon as the topic about debatable games started Zarina’s and Aset’s body language changed completely. Rather than sitting in their chairs in the sloppy posture they had during the beginning of the discussion, they now sat erect, with their hands on the table as opposed to their laps. Art em was attentive as always and Ainura also maintained her general composure. The next topic under discussion was whether 200m and 400m races should be included for girls or not. Zarina advanced her point of view in what would strictly be referred to as an authoritative way and said that these games require a lot of stamina which is too much to expect from girls. This was countered by Ainura, who herself had been practicing running both 200m and 400m for the athletic meet, she was articulate and firm in making her point clear that if the girls practice enough stamina will not seem to be an issue. Zarina got agitated and cut her midway; her voice’s pitch was getting higher by the second. Artem and Aset intervened both with opposing viewpoints on the issue, however both were trying to reason the issue out as opposed to Zarina. Joe was convinced that Zarina’s interruptions and aggression along with the different interests of the group representatives would not lead the gro up to a consensus. Therefore he proposed that the matter be resolved with the help of a vote, which was indeed the right choice. Next in line was the debate on the inclusion of the Discus throw and Shot put, Artem was the one against the inclusion this time, he was sided by

European Union and United Nations Essay Example for Free

European Union and United Nations Essay United Nations and European Union are two organizations which are very influential in the contemporary world. The two institutions play a very great role as far as implementation of rules and policy of different nature are concerned. Each body is charged with specific roles to play in the pursuit of various objectives for the member states. United Nation draws its membership from across the board,almost all countries in the world are members of this organization which was mainly created to promote peace among the nations. European Union on the other hand draws its membership from the heart of Europe,where most of the European nations are represented. The two organizations are charged with the role of implementing policies put forward or agreed upon by the member states. Each body has a mechanism which ensures that these policies and rules are followed by the members. They have powers to compel members to adhere to the laid down rules. United Nation relies on the powers granted by its guiding rules to implement the policies while European union largely depends on the constitution drawn by member states spelling out procedures to be followed by the members as far as implementation of policies is concerned. (Blacksell, M 1978) One of the main differences between the two bodies is the composition,European Union membership is drawn from nations which have a common interest and are pursuing the same goals mostly on economic intergration,whereas United Nation is a conglomeration of states brought together by the purpose of promoting peace in the world. United nation membership is far and wide due to the reason that a country is member of the larger world community. Members have serious conflicting interests making it hard at times to reach a compromise in certain occassions. On the other hand European Union is more of a voluntary organizations where members join as a result of the benefits they are going to derive from such a union (Emadi, B 2002). They are not propelled by other reason such as fear of being labelled uncoperative but rather for the benefit of creating a wider markets and opening up their economies. The European Union is a powerful entity which is rather an economic organization as opposed to United Nation which more of a political institution. The main objective of the European Union was to allow free movements of goods and capital across the borders where for the United Nation it was to prevent another major war in the world or mainly prevent conflict between nations among other things that go along with the maintenance of peace in the world. In such an arrangement members are not bound together by a common goal but rather as mere formality because they would like to be seen as countries which believe in a peaceful coexistence among nations. For those in the European Union it is more than maintenance of peace. They are bound together by the principles of creating a good enviroment for their economic advancement. (Bedjaou, M 1991) (Lister, F 1996) As an international organization,United nation has been facing problems as far as enforcement of the policies and rules is concerned. At times this has resulted to very serious consequences especially when members fail to abide by the rules set by the otganization. One of the main problem that has engulfed this institution is the feeling that some members are not well represented. The inequality as far as power is concerned has been a serious set back when it comes to the implementation of policies in the body. The issue of veto power means that some members are more powerful than others meaning that there exists a power imbalance in this organization. Though this may serve well for the group as the powerful nations will force the others to play by the rules there is a danger of this concept being misused by the powerful nations where they will be forcing others to play to their tune. On the other hand European Union presents a situation where member states operate on an equal ground (Lane, J 2006)As a supranantional government , European Union member countries have transferred some of their powers to this broader authority. This power is shared equally among the member states giving them eacha an opportunity to feel part and parcel of the organization. In such an arrangement it becomes easy to implement policies and rules set by the organization since members will wilingly be ready to comply as they are bound to benefit from such seetings. (Permott, A 2000) Though in both organizations it is possible for the member state to be forced by others to implement decisions made,in the Euopean Union it is rather not necessary to take such an action since most of the polies are reached through consensus building. Therefore most of the members will be in a position to impelement what the member country has passed. In the United Nations force can be used if a member state fails to go by the rules but this does not mean that such measures are always successful. (Joachim, J and Locher, B 2009) Members have at one time or another withdrawn their contribution or their membership from the organization as a registration of their discontement with some of the policies adopted by the organization. The fact that United Nation applies persuasive means to convince member states to comply with the rules and also take part in the implementation of policies place it in a weaker position as far as its operation are concerned. It is at a disadvantaged position since not all the members are willing to play by the rules. The mechanisms available to compel members to abide by the rules are also weak giving too much leeway to the rebel members. The issue of the power imbalance among member states also plays a great role in the impedement being experienced in the matters relating to the policy implementation. (Preston, L and Windsor, D 1997) The facts that European Union members are held together by many factors make it easy for the organization to manage its affairs. All members are bound to benefit in one way or another from the policies being adopted at any time. On the other hand United Nations experience difficulties implementing some of its policies due to the fact that the organization has a wider membership, and again the ideological differences play a major role as far as this is concerned. The feeling by some of the members that they are inadequately represented makes it hard for the organization to employ mechanism which auger well for all the members (Ionescu, G 1974) When it comes to the implementation of international rules and policies United Nation stands a better chance but it’s bogged down by various issues surrounding its composition. The fact that some nations yield more power in terms of veto creates an imbalance making other members feel that they are just used as mere pawns in rubber stamping decisions reached and brought down into their throats by the powerful nations. They feel that they are not part and parcel of some of the policies being adopted. On the other hand the issue of policy ownership in the European Union has played a great role as far as its successful implementation of policies and rules is concerned. Members participate fully in the deliberation and implementation of the policies. (Mckay, D (1996) Reference Permott, A (2000) The New Politics of Financing the UN, Palgrave Macmillan Bedjaou, M (1991) International Law and Prospects, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers Preston, L and Windsor, D (1997) The Rules of the Game in the Global Economy, Springer Publishers Ionescu, G (1974) Between Sovereignty and Intergration, Taylor and Francis Emadi, B (2002) Rethinking International Organization, Routledge Taylor and Francis Blacksell, M (1978) Postwar Europe: A political Geography, West view Press Joachim, J and Locher, B (2009) Transnational Activism in the UN and EU: A Comparative Study, Taylor and Francis Lane, J (2006) Globalization and the Politics, Ashgate Publishing Mckay, D (1996) Rush to Union, Oxford University Press Lister, F (1996) The European Union, The United Nations and the Revival of the Cofederal Governance, Greeenwood Publishing co.

Understanding The Demanding Emotional Health Work Social Work Essay

Understanding The Demanding Emotional Health Work Social Work Essay The aim of this assignment is to discuss the contribution of medical, sociological and psychological models to understanding emotional health and examine the impact of race, class and gender on emotional health. Furthermore the assignment will discuss appropriate theories to understanding the emotional health linking them to race in case study one. According to World Health Organisation, 2005 Mental health and mental well being are fundamental to the quality of life and productivity of individuals, families, communities and nations, enabling people to experience life as meaningful and to be creative and active citizens. Hales ( ) defines emotional health as the ability to express, acknowledge how one feels, their moods and be in a position to adapt to situations and be compassionate to others. The medical model views the diseases as coming from outside and invading the body, causing changes within the body. It can also originate as internal, involuntary physical changes caused by chemical imbalances and can also be genetic (Nolan 2009). This model considers the mental malfunction of schizophrenia to be a consequence of chemical and physical changes in the brain. Environmental factors may be the causation of illness, but the disorder might still be influenced by hereditary factors (Tyrer and Steinberg 2008). The abnormal behaviour in an individual is a result of physical conditions such as brain damage, meningitis and others. The treatment given is aimed at controlling the root cause of the disease by changing the individuals biochemistry. This approach does not account for the occasions this evidence can be found in mental disorders such as such bipolar and unipolar depression and schizophrenia. The sociological model of health places more emphasis on the individuals environmental, social and economic causes of disease rather than solely focusing on the biological aspect (Duggan 2002). The socio-cultural aspect refers to the role socio-cultural environments play in a given psychological phenomenon such as parental and peer influence in the behaviours or characteristics of an individual. Social factors encompass a discrete subject matter because, as collective representations, they are independent of psychological and biological phenomena, although we have individual actions, thoughts and feelings we tend to live our lives through institutions: family, corporation, church, school and nights (Hadden 1997 p 105). The Psychological model suggests that human behaviour is strongly affected by experiences from childhood and also that behaviour is the result of interaction between the conscious and the unconscious (Nolan 2009). Mind (2010) points out that cannabis may cause psychological effects that lead to psychotic experiences such hallucination, depersonalisation and paranoid ideas. Rack (1982, p. 124) points out that Cannabis is readily available throughout the Caribbean and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent its use is not restricted to any particular age-group. In support of this point Cockerham (2007) observes that living in a household with both parents who smoke or having a spouse who smokes can promote smoking behaviours. A psychological model is based on the assumption that conscious thought mediates an individuals emotional state or behaviour in response to stimulus. The model suggests that people may create their own problems through interpretation. The psychological model will look a lot deeper into the individuals and not merely the symptoms in which they are showing. It suggests that our thought may cause the disturbances or it may indeed by the disturbances causing our thought. The model refers to the role that cognition and emotions play in any given psychological phenomenon, such as the effects of mood, beliefs and expectation on an individuals reaction to the event. The biological aspects refer to the role of the prenatal environment on brain development and cognitive abilities or the influence of genes on individuals dispositions (Rogers and Pilgrim 2000). Hatty (2000) in Barack (2006) observes that Gender refers to nature and the psychological, social, and cultural components that summarizes the leading ideas about feminine and masculine characteristics and behaviours dominating in any society at one time. According to Pilgrim (2009) gender is a social description. Rogers and Pilgrim (2005) points out that men are prone to be involved in antisocial behaviour and can be categorised as dangerous and criminally deviant, which leads to their removal. The idea of danger to society is always attributed to men than women. There is evidence to propose that men are often sectioned under Mental Health Act 1983 and referred to psychiatric hospitals by the police under section 136 removal to a place of safety. Men are more likely to be hand cuffed and detained in cells more than women (Rogers (1990) cited in Rogers and Pilgrim 2000). Gove (1984) in Rogers and Pilgrim (2005) shows that there is now a general consensus among social scientists that women experience more psychological distress than men and that this is largely due to aspects of their societal roles. Another view point is that, throughout the life span women report greater psycho-social malaise than men and the gap between sexes increases in older people with self-reported factors like depression, worry, sleep disturbances and feelings of strain. There have used the societal role to explain why women experience psychological distress than men. Womens unstructured roles tend to be more domestic than men which contribute to their vulnerability to mental distress because they have time to dwell on their problems (Blaxter (1990) cited in Rogers and Pilgrim 2005). Womens natural disposition is known to be maternal, caring, passive and home centred. Their inferiority, instability and lack of control are increased as their biology takes over (Jones 1994). WHO (2010) states that while childbearing and motherhood are often positive and fulfilling experiences, for many women these are associated with suffering, ill-health and even death. The estimation of illness is different between men and women, the peak age for men is 15-24 and for women is between 25 and 34. According to Rogers (1990) cited in Rogers and Pilgrim (2000) Class remains a predictable correlate of mental ill health. Basically the poorer a person is the more likely they are to have a mental health problem. A class gradient is evident in mental health status across the bulk of the diagnostic groups but it is not a neat inverse relationship. For example affective disorders are not diagnosed evenly in all social classes whereas a very strong correlation exists between low social class and the diagnosis of schizophrenia. In the case of depression and anxiety the underlying assumption has been clearer cut, perhaps because minor morbidity is less strongly identifiable as biologically derived illness (Jones 1994). They found a complex relationship of social class to anxiety and depression linked to changing employment status they furthermore examined three different ways of describing social position: income; social advantage and lifestyle; and social class. Poor accommodation produces stress reactions in inhabitants (Hunt 1990; Hyndman 1990). Social and environmental causes are those factors around us such as where we live, whether we have strong family support networks, our place of work and how and where we can relax (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2004). Social class is one of the determinants of health which includes; wealth, culture, background, family, financial constraints, accommodation and lifestyle WHO (2010). According to Barak et al race is socially defined by a collection of traits such as; physical characteristics, culture and religion, national origin and language. King et al (1994) and other authors cited in Kaye and Lingiah (2000) states that there is evidence that, with the intervention of the police and social services, African -Caribbean people are more likely to be admitted to psychiatric hospitals compared to whites. There is a belief that African-Caribbean people are not provided with preventive and supportive measures before there is a crisis, but when the crisis starts and escalates the emergency services get involved which leads to compulsory admission (Bhuil et al (1998) and other authors cited in Kaye and Lingiah 2000). Rogers 1990 in (Rogers and Pilgrim 2005) states that Afro-Caribbean people are found to be less frequently referred by relatives or neighbours but by strangers and passers-by of other ethnic groups. In support of the above statement Reiner 1996 in Rogers a nd Pilgrim (2005) suggests that there is a process of transmitted discrimination in the way in which black peoples behaviour is viewed which is interpreted in a more negative way. Furthermore the Department of Health (DH 2005) states that the black and minority ethnic groups who live in England are deprived of the quality of mental health care that they need. Black and minority ethnic patients are more likely than the white British to be detained compulsorily, to be admitted to hospital rather than treated in the community, to be subject to measures like seclusion in hospital, and to come into contact with services through the criminal justice system. This leads to a vicious circle of BME people refraining from seeking care early in their illness. According to Rogers and Pilgrim (2005) most blacks including African-Caribbean people who live in the inner cities suffer from recurrent racism and are over represented in psychiatric records. Looking at what the medical model says and comparing to Daniels behaviour, it may be suggested that he was suffering from schizophrenia which is more dominant in African Caribbean people, which could have been caused by substance abuse. Royal College of Psychiatrists (2004) states that there is a causal relation between substance misuse, particularly alcohol, cannabinoids, hallucinogens, and stimulants (such as amphetamines), can produce psychotic symptoms directly without mental illness. They may also precipitate psychotic disorders among people with a predisposition. Kaye and Lingiah (2000) points out that African Caribbean people have a higher rate of admissions for schizophrenia and effective psychosis compared to their white counterparts. Hales (2010-2011) states that social health refers to the ability to interact effectively with other people and the social environment in order to develop satisfying interpersonal relationships and fulfil social roles. Looking at the changes in Daniels behaviour it may be suggested that it was down to living on his own, lack of support, change of environment and financial problems. Frederick 1991 in Rogers and Pilgrim (2005) observes that the various factors identified by Afro-Caribbean mental health users are; coping with adolescence and education system; building up relationships and then dashes their expectations; growing up in a hostile environment with few positive images of black people, parental and with British white cultural input leading to confusion and conflict over identity. Argyle (1994) states that there is a theory that failing to learn correct social skills during the early stages of life can contribute to social rejection there by cause one to fail to cope with life events and can cause anxiety, depression or other symptoms. Hales (2010-2011) points out that those who are psychologically fit normally share the following characteristics: they have high self-esteem and aim towards happiness and fulfilment, they establish and maintain close relationships, they accept their own limitations in life and they feel a sense of meaning and purpose of life. Daniel started neglecting himself and acting on the voices that he heard, which may be suggested he had a problem with his psychological well-being. African Caribbean people are likely to be offered physical treatments, strong medication and not likely to be offered psychotherapy and counselling. In conclusion analysing approaches to health and illness in terms of medical versus a social model henceforth the medical model is a key concept in both medical sociology and medical anthropology (Chang and Christakis 2002). A lack of social support also can be due to social stigma which is the main reason why mental peoples social network becomes narrow. Also because of schizophrenias pervasive effects on daily functioning a range of psychosocial approaches has been developed to improve emotional and psychological well-being.

Time Square Essay -- American History, New York, Tourists

Today, Times Square is seen as a tourist attraction with people traveling to the United States from all over the world to visit New York. Times Square did not always have the glamorous portrayal it has in movies today. In the early twentieth century, Times Square was not a pleasant place and the sounds one would hear would be a lot different from today’s sounds. In the 1920s Times Square had a brief heyday, from thriving entertainment and being the center of flashy commercial advertising, but Prohibition caused many downfalls in the entertainment industry, forcing theaters and nightclubs to close. Times Square was full of nightclubs and theaters, so as the demand lowered because of the limitation of serving alcohol, these venues needed to adapt their business to continue to bring in customers. Most theaters started to add rooftop gardens, cabarets, and restaurants that can maintain the long hour shifts for extra income (Reichl 53). During the â€Å"1927/1928 theater season, seventy-six theaters were operating in the greater Times Square theater district, but within a decade the number had dropped to thirty-three,† with none of the theaters on 42nd street in operation by the end of the 1930s (Reichl 56). Eventually, theaters had to resort to other forms of entertainment; certain parts of Times Square were known for the peep shows, burlesque clubs, and video stores (McNamara 20). With a new crowd of people coming to see this type of entertainment, there were different sounds heard on the streets of Times Square then heard today. Outside of the theaters one would hear the chatter about the pornographic film being shown, hustlers trying to pick people up for a few hours, and mass transit passing by. A few decades later, the do... ...ainment attractions and sharing in the booming tourist economy of Times Square† (Reichl 160). Kids and adults now enjoy the theatrical performances of many Disney classics along 42nd Street and can end the visit by visiting the two-storey Disney Store to purchase various Disney trademarked items. Most people do not realize the history of 42nd Street when they are passing by because they hear the speakers playing the soundtracks to shows, people selling tickets in the box office as well as scalpers trying to find tickets, and anxious kids waiting for the show to begin. The tourist area that 42nd Street has become is flourishing all because of Disney and how the officials looked passed the dingy look and negative views of 42md Street. Instead of focusing on the looks and negativity, Disney looked at this project as a business venture with a big picture aspect.

Legal and Professional Issues – Manager of an IT company

You are a manager with an IT company supplying information management systems to medical practices. A company marketing health-related products (complementary medicines, books on diets and ‘miracle' cures of various kinds) has approached you. They suggest that you jointly offer doctors incentives to accept a feature in your system that will print out advertisements for their products on documents for patients and target different categories of patients with mailings. Content Page Title Page Content Page Ethical Issues it raises for; * The individuals- doctors, IT manager 4 * The groups – marketing company, patients 4-5 Enquires which may be carried out in order to understand the problem better 5 Proposed ‘solution' for the problem 5-6 Bibliography 7 Appendices 8-11 Manager of an IT company Ethical Issues it raises for; IT Manager * Data Protection Act 1998- â€Å"sensitive personal data† within the act states that ‘his physical or mental health or condition'1 should not be disclosed. See Appendices. * Human rights act 1998 * The act of ‘Bribery', illegal in the UK. * Company should have made a legal binding to the medical practice to secure data leakage. * Ethics and Information Technology. See Bernhard Debatin in Appendices. * In relation to Mills theory- the consequences could lead to higher monitoring of privacy if the activity is disclosed. See Appendices. Doctors * Following the principle of Mills, again, the consequences could be increased monitoring of doctoring practice locally or through the UK. * Data protection act 1998 * Human rights act 1998 * Unspoken confidentiality agreement with patient (doctor/ patient relationship) * Medical ethical practices, as laid out by the General Medical Council http://www.gmc-uk.org/standards/default.htm. * Breaking position of patient/ doctor authority * Misinforming patients/ disclosing information about a product he/she may know little about i.e. not knowing the side affects and misinforming patients claiming a ‘miracle cure'. * Accepting a personal ‘incentive' on behalf of patient confidentiality * Viewed as a high profile in society- should set a high ethical example * Potential- under Mills theory, of loosing the Doctor Status, respect and trust of the patients. Marketing Company * The British Code of Advertising Practice * Marketing ethical practices * Freedom of Information Act 2000 – could be viewed as ‘ethical' for such medical information to be disclosed in Europe. Patients * Unspoken confidentiality agreement with doctor (doctor/ patient relationship) * Date protection Act 1998 as before * Human Rights Act 1998 as before * Doctor- medical professional, patient- not a medical professional, thus the acceptance of something neither may no much about would potentially occur * Names/ Address/ disabilities and/or illnesses being disclosed; private and personal information which could be very sensitive to the individual. Enquires which may be carried out in order to understand the problem better It would be beneficial to do all the following in order to understand the situation better: * Contact the marketing company to gain a comprehensive understanding of the products; if not, the manufacturer. * Conduct research to find out if the product(s) have been used elsewhere, and if so, what the results were. * Contact the NHS; what are the regulations behind the marketing of products within medical practises. As the governing body, has research been previously carried out on these products? * Contact the General Medical Council who protect/ guide doctors and patients. With thorough knowledge of ethical guidance procedures for doctors and patients, they claim doctors should along with many other things; o â€Å"Respect and protect confidential information [about patients] o Respect patients' dignity and privacy o Avoid abusing your position as a doctor†2 * Speak to the doctors, ask them about the product and for them to speak to their peers in regard to the product- has others heard/used them. Proposed ‘solution' for the problem There are a couple of steps that can be carried out in order to minimise the ethical dilemmas that are concealed within this problem; 1. The IT Manager [myself] could give the doctors details obtained from the company marketing health-related products so that they have the choice as to whether they carry out the advertising- it would then be their responsibility to ensure date protection. 2. The idea of disclosing patient information in my view [acting as the manager] is totally unethical, and will not even be taken into consideration; even with an incentive- it would put my profession as well as the medical practice under legal scrutiny. 3. The NHS could be contacted to see if it would be possible for the marketing company to operate through them, ensuring that nothing illegal/unethical is taking place, and thus increasing the financial position of the NHS, again, leaving the IT company out of the equation

The way black people are treated by white people in the short story Crackling Day by Peter Abrahams Essays

The way black people are treated by white people in the short story Crackling Day by Peter Abrahams Essays The way black people are treated by white people in the short story Crackling Day by Peter Abrahams Essay The way black people are treated by white people in the short story Crackling Day by Peter Abrahams Essay Essay Topic: Black Boy Crackling Day by Peter Abrahams is set in South Africa in the second half of the twentieth century. In the country at this time, the blacks and the whites were separated. They had different elevators in buildings, different beaches, buses, and shops. Interracial relations, and marriages were illegal. The whites owned much of the land, in fact 80% of it. They owned the mines, and the cities. The story is about 2 boys who travel all day to a farm to collect their weekly amount of crackling for their families. The story is set in the country near a town called Elsburg. This short story shows us how the blacks treated the whites, and how the blacks had to treat the whites. The story is called Crackling Day because it starts with two boys, Andries and Lee who are making the long trek to Elsburg siding for the square of pigs rind that passed for our daily meat. The boys had to collect a double amount of cow dung the day before, so that they could get the crackling. This shows that the black people were poor, as they had to perform the jobs that the white people did not want to do, such as collect cow dung, just to get some pig rind. This was there daily meat and it was all they could afford. The quotation, Ill skin you if you lose the money! shows that they did not have a lot of money. The fact that they had little money can also been seen in the fact that they did not have clothes that protected them from the cold. The cold went through my shirt and shorts; my skin went pimply and chilled; my fingers went numb and began to ache. It can also been seen that they could not afford shoes as it says, The cold was not so terrible on bear feet if one did not keep still. It can also be seen in, y feet felt like frozen lumps that did not belong to me In the story is says, They teach them to go for us. Never get caught by one. My old mans got a hole in his bottom where a Boer dog got him. They believed that white people trained their dogs to attack black people. This may not be true though. When the two boys are about to fight two white men came down the path and they ended their fight. This shows that they may have been intimidated them. When the two boys get to Elsburg, they have to queue for their crackling. The man who sells it to them is white.

Death Penalty Right or Wrong essays

Death Penalty Right or Wrong essays The issue of death penalty is one which has been long debated in the United States. Various anti-death penalty arguments have been brought forward proclaiming death penalty as wrong and brutal. The anti death-penalty movement claims that there is a very high risk of execution of the innocent. They apparently seem to ignore that in the process of saving very few exceptions, they are propagating to let all murderers get away with their crime. Moreover, the opponents of death penalty also claim that if the end result of murder and execution both is the death of an individual, then both are equally wrong and brutal. What they, in other words, are saying that murder and execution are one and the same thing since the end result of both is the same. Seemingly pathetic argument since no one can say that a man making love to a woman is equal to a man having sex with a woman against her wishes. Is it possible to equate Death penalty is something which is required for the safety of the nation. By executing murderers, what one is doing is ensuring that these people are incapable of murdering again and taking more innocent lives. So in effect, death penalty is saving the lives of those who might be at risk. Moreover, the death penalty also acts as a fear factor for potential murderers who do not murder because of their fear of execution. Once again, this results in saving the lives of those who could have been potential "If we execute murderers and there is in fact no deterrent effect, we have killed a bunch of murderers. If we fail to execute murderers, and doing so would in fact have deterred other murders, we have allowed the killing of a bunch of innocent victims. I would much rather risk the former. This, to me, is not a tough call." John McAdams - Marquette ...

The Invention of the Atomic Bomb

The Invention of the Atomic Bomb During World War II, American physicists and engineers began a race against Nazi Germany to develop the first  atomic bomb. Their secret endeavor, which lasted from 1942 to 1945, was known as the Manhattan Project. The project led to the invention of nuclear weapons, including two that were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing or injuring over 200,000 people. These attacks forced Japan to surrender and brought an end to World War II, but they also marked a crucial turning point in the early Atomic Age, raising enduring questions about the implications of nuclear warfare. What Was the Manhattan Project? The Manhattan Project was named for Columbia University in Manhattan, New York, one of the initial sites of atomic study in the United States.  While the research took place at several secret sites across the U.S., much of it, including the first atomic tests, took place near Los Alamos, New Mexico. During the project, the U.S. military teamed up with the best minds of the scientific community. Military operations were headed by Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves, and  J. Robert Oppenheimer  acted as the scientific director, overseeing the project from concept to reality. In total, the Manhattan Project cost the U.S. over two billion dollars over just four years. A Race Against the Germans In 1938, German scientists discovered fission, which occurs when the nucleus of an atom breaks into two equal parts. This reaction releases neutrons that break up more atoms, causing a chain reaction. Since significant energy is released in only millionths of a second, it was thought that fission could cause an explosive chain reaction of considerable force inside a uranium bomb. Due to the war, a number of scientists emigrated from Europe and brought with them news of this discovery. In 1939, Leo Szilard and other American and recently emigrated scientists tried to warn the U.S. government about this new danger- but were not able to get a response. Szilard contacted and met with  Albert Einstein, one of the best-known scientists of the day. Einstein was a devoted pacifist and was at first reluctant to contact the government. He knew that he would be asking them to work toward creating a weapon that could potentially kill millions of people. However, Einstein was eventually swayed by concerns that Nazi Germany would develop the weapon first. The Advisory Committee on Uranium On August 2, 1939, Einstein wrote a now-famous letter to  President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It outlined both the potential uses of an atomic bomb and ways to help support American scientists in their research. In response, President Roosevelt created the Advisory Committee on Uranium in October 1939. Based on the recommendations of the committee, the U.S. government outlaid $6,000 to buy graphite and uranium oxide for research. Scientists believed that graphite might be able to slow down a chain reaction, thus keeping the bombs energy somewhat in check. Despite immediate action being taken, progress was slow until one fateful event brought the reality of war to American shores. The Development of the Bomb On December 7, 1941, the  Japanese military bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet. In response, the U.S. declared war on Japan the next day and officially entered WWII. With the country at war and the realization that the United States was now three years behind Nazi Germany, President Roosevelt was ready to seriously support U.S. efforts to create an atomic bomb. Costly experiments began at the University of Chicago, U.C. Berkeley, and Columbia University in New York. Reactors were built in Hanford, Washington, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Oak Ridge, known as The Secret City, was also the site of a massive uranium enrichment laboratory and plant. Researchers worked simultaneously at all of the sites. Harold Urey and his Columbia University colleagues built an extraction system based on gaseous diffusion. At the University of California in Berkley, the inventor of the Cyclotron, Ernest Lawrence, used his knowledge and skills to devise a process for magnetically separating the  uranium-235 (U-235) and plutonium-239 (Pu-239) isotopes. Research kicked into high gear in 1942. On December 2, at the University of Chicago,  Enrico Fermi  created the very first successful chain reaction, in which atoms were split in a controlled environment. This accomplishment gave renewed vigor to the hopes that an atomic bomb was possible. The Manhattan Project had another priority that soon became clear. It was becoming too dangerous and difficult to develop nuclear weapons at these scattered universities and towns. Scientists needed an isolated laboratory away from the populace. In 1942, Oppenheimer suggested the remote area of Los Alamos, New Mexico. General Groves approved the site and construction began at the end of that year. Oppenheimer became the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory, which would be known as â€Å"Project Y. Scientists continued to work diligently, but it took until 1945 to produce the first nuclear bomb. The Trinity Test When President Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, Vice President  Harry S. Truman  became the 33rd President of the United States. Until then, Truman had not been told of the Manhattan Project, but he was quickly briefed on the secrets of the atomic bomb development. That summer, a test bomb codenamed The Gadget was taken to the New Mexico desert, to a location known as Jornada del Muerto, Spanish for Journey of the Dead Man. The test was given the codename â€Å"Trinity,† a name chosen by Oppenheimer in reference to a poem by John Donne. Having never tested anything of this magnitude before, everyone was anxious. While some scientists feared a dud, others feared the end of the world. No one knew what to expect. At 5:30 a.m. on July 16, 1945, scientists, army personnel, and technicians donned special goggles to watch the beginning of the Atomic Age. The bomb was dropped. There was a forceful flash, a wave of heat, a stupendous shock wave, and a mushroom cloud that extended 40,000 feet into the atmosphere. The tower from which the bomb was dropped was completely disintegrated and thousands of yards of surrounding desert sand was turned into a radioactive glass of a brilliant jade green color. The bomb was a success. Reactions to the First Atomic Test The bright light from the Trinity test would stand out in the minds of everyone who was within even hundreds of miles of the site that morning. Residents in neighborhoods far away would say the sun rose twice that day. A blind girl 120 miles from the site said she saw the flash as well. The men who created the bomb were astonished, too. Physicist Isidor Rabi expressed worry that mankind had become a threat and upset the equilibrium of nature. The test brought to Oppenheimers mind a line from the Bhagavad Gita: Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. Test director Ken Bainbridge told Oppenheimer, Now were all sons of bitches. The unease among many of the witnesses that day led some to sign petitions. They argued that this terrible thing they had created could not be let loose in the world. Their protests were ignored. The Atomic Bombs That Ended WWII Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945, two months before the successful Trinity test. However, Japan refused to surrender, despite threats from President Truman that terror would fall from the sky. The war had lasted six years and involved most of the globe. It had resulted in the deaths of 61 million people and the displacement of countless others. The last thing the U.S. wanted was a ground war with Japan- so the decision was made to drop an atomic bomb. On August 6, 1945, a uranium bomb named â€Å"Little Boy† (named for its relatively small size) was  dropped on Hiroshima, Japan  by the Enola Gay. Robert Lewis, co-pilot of the B-29 bomber, wrote in his journal moments later, My God, what have we done? traumlichtfabrik / Getty Images The target of Little Boy was the Aioi Bridge, which spanned the Ota River. At 8:15 that morning the bomb was dropped, and by 8:16 over 66,000 people near ground zero were already dead. Some 69,000 more were injured, most burned or suffering from radiation sickness, from which many would later die. This single atomic bomb produced absolute devastation. It left a total vaporization zone of one-half mile in diameter. The total destruction area extended to one mile, while the impact of a severe blast was felt for two miles. Anything that was flammable within two and a half miles was burned, and blazing infernos were seen up to three miles away. On August 9, 1945, after Japan had still refused to surrender, a second bomb was dropped. It was a plutonium bomb named â€Å"Fat Man† after its round shape. The bombs target was the city of Nagasaki, Japan. Over 39,000 people were killed and 25,000 injured. Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945, bringing an end to World War II. Aftermath The deadly impact of the atomic bomb was immediate, but the effects would last for decades. The fallout caused radioactive particles to rain on the injured Japanese people who had survived the blast, and more lives were lost to the effects of radiation poisoning. Survivors of these bombs would also pass radiation on to their descendants. The most prominent example is an alarmingly high rate of leukemia cases among their children. The bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki revealed the true destructive power of these weapons. Though countries throughout the world have continued to develop nuclear weapons, there have also been movements to promote nuclear disarmament, and anti-nuclear treaties have been signed by major world powers.

Community Meeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 9

Community Meeting - Essay Example The youth group holds its meetings every Sunday evening, according to Bob. To start off the meeting, they engage themselves in activities such as flag football, basketball, soccer, and Frisbee. Such playtime activities enable the new group members to intermingle easily with the ‘old guard.’ The members of the group are drawn from various neighborhoods and they range in age from 10-16 years. Such neighborhoods include Germantown, Manayunk, Lafayette Hill, and Mt. Airy. After they have known each other, the group members congregate in the church basement for announcements. These were done by Bob. He also introduced new members to the group, and also led everyone in a group song which is preceded by group worship and prayer. The members were then separated into two groups by the assistant youth group leader. They were separated into middle school and high school. They had snacks, which were provided by the parish, after which they set out for a discussion about contemporary world events and issues. The high school students discussed the Bombings in Boston. Bob announced that arrangements were underway for the church to make a summer trip. The ministry youth group had been slotted for a trip to Central, PA, where a Christian rock festival was going to be held. The festival was dubbed ‘Creation.’ It was explained to the groups, by Bob, that the festival would be like Woodstock, although with daily speakers and all the songs being Christian rock music. The church, as it was announced, would be sponsoring two car-washing events, one to be held in May and the other in June, in a bid to raise adequate finances to fund the trips so as to reduce the amount that each of the members was supposed to contribute.

Coursework Management (Discussion Questions) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management (Discussion Questions) - Coursework Example The Mexican American Residents in Texas became U.S citizens following the precedent in Hernandez case. They were not initially treated as equals of Anglo citizens. 4. The Anglos, who settled in Texas, held stereotypes about the Mexican-Americans. They called them ‘wetback,' ‘greasers,' and ‘pepper belly.' They viewed them as being illegal with prejudices emanating from racial backgrounds. 5. The segregation of the Mexican Americans differed with that of the African-Americans in the African Americans were recognized by the law while the Mexican Americans were not. African Americans could, therefore, be represented on a jury while Mexican Americans could not. 6. About 750,000 Mexican American men served in the World War II. Their experience in the war changes the Mexican American view of themselves in that they saw themselves as people with a unique identity. As a result, they developed patriotism through which they fought for their rights. 7. The scandal concerning Private Felix Longoria pertains to the discovery of the remains of his body in Philippines where he had been killed on a volunteer mission during the World War II. The director of the funeral home where the remains of Felix was to be buried refused access to the chapel because previous disturbances by the Mexican Americans. That symbolized racial segregation. The controversy was ended through a committee of the members of Texas House of Representatives that investigated the matter.

Diverse Effects Of Smoking Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Diverse Effects Of Smoking - Research Paper Example The administration has undertaken research on the sound mechanism to convince the students of the benefits of quitting or abstaining from smoking. Critical evaluation of costs associated with smoking in the wider society shows the significant loss. SCSU shows concern for the welfare of the society by taking the lead in addressing such contentious health issue. The student community is considered influential in boosting the campaign due to their high rate of interaction and potential to initiate the revolution. It is in the interest of the students to promote the campaign against the vice and enhance the functionality of the ban. Besides banning, the smokers can be made to see sense through insightful debate among students. The institution has factual evidence in support of its decision to effect a ban on smoking. The learning institutions should be at the center of championing for better health. In this respect, smoking in the school poses a significant health risk to the smokers and the non-smokers. These consequences are multidimensional. The resultant health conditions from smoking are an additional medical cost to the society. Besides, there is the likelihood of deterioration in physical and mental health which translates to poor performance in school. The central concern of the university for imposing the ban revolves around saving. The cost of cigarettes is high and affects the students’ financial positions significantly. SCSU has set a schedule on how to effect the ban and wrap it up with the intensive anti-smoking campaign in school. The schedule takes spectrum plan which will involve first, second, third and last to fine-tune the entire work.

Poems comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Poems comparison - Essay Example There is no irony or sarcasm in this poem, when compared with the other two. Barbie Doll refers to the chilling stereotyping a young girl, growing up, is subject to. She is expected to conform to unrealistic standards of beauty and behavior, to become a pleasing, plastic, plaything, and forget her own individuality. In the process, the girl loses her self-esteem and resorts to suicide. The only time that she is able to conform to society’s norms is after her death—which implies that these norms are killing. This urge to be stylish is referred to in Titanic as well. The urge is so strong that it is not unlikely that people, if given a chance might actually choose to voyage again on the doomed Titanic, just to be able to go down grandly! There are only two instances in the poem, where the poet uses some kind of literary flourish, by characterizing puberty as â€Å"magic† (a metaphor) and describing the girl’s good nature wearing out â€Å"like a fan belt† (a simile). However, beneath the mere presentation of facts lurks a suppressed emotion, which the reader relates to, and the result is therefore an evoking of similar emotion. Titanic, however, has no underlying emotion. The poem mocks at people’s tendency to pursue blindly, that which is considered fashionable—like lemmings rushing to a mindless death. But it certainly invokes in the reader, by its mocking style, a horror of our tendency to want to conform to the fashion of the day, irrespective of consequences. The poem highlights how modern media romanticizes even the most terrible of events, and the power of the media over our lives. Both Titanic and Barbie Doll are written in the third person, to achieve distance in the presentation, while Philadelphia, in the first person, immediately establishes emotional proximity with the reader. However, the first two poems have a certain tension, which evoke further

Marketing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing - Research Paper Example Lenovo has manufacturing facilities in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, and Huiyang in China and at Pondicherry, India and a center at Whitsitt, North Carolina. It will not be out of place to note that Compaq and Hewlett Packard got merged in 2002. It was in 2004 that IBM sold off their PC business to a state Chinese company called Lenovo. The Compaq and IBM were two dominating brands in the market in the mid-1990s. Dell and HP emerged as two strong players in the PC market during late ‘90s while share of IBM went on reducing year after year. With that state of affairs and highly competitive market coupled with aggressive pricing strategies by many other manufacturers, IBM became a minority share holder in Lenovo. IBM held 18.4% share holding in Lenovo and Lenovo was granted rights to use IBM brand for 5 years as per the agreement; however, Lenovo got the product brand ‘ThinkPad’ from the IBM on a permanent basis. (IBM sells PC†¦2004) Lenovo is a state-owned compa ny having most of its operations in China barring a few installations in India and Mexico. India and Mexico operations are mostly for the local needs of that country. Before we embark upon the marketing plan for Lenovo, it would be worthwhile to do SWOT analysis. SWOT Analysis of Lenovo It will be appropriate to identify the Strengths, and Weaknesses of the company along with the opportunities that company can readily harness and issues that may pose threat to the company. Strengths: a. The company is well guided and supported by qualified and talented managerial pool of IBM. b. Lenovo PCs are endorsed by IBM brand ‘ThinkPad’ providing a confidence to the consumers in the market place. c. Manufacturing facilities being in China, the company enjoys not only the low cost of manufacturing but additional skilled manpower for its expansion project. d. Being a state-owned company, the company is well taken care of at the time of any change in local rules and regulations durin g normal and adverse market conditions. Weaknesses: a. The company may have trouble during natural disasters or calamities within the country to maintain normal production programs as most of its manufacturing facilities are in China. b. Being a state-owned company, decision making process may not be quick enough to thwart competition when it is need of an hour. Opportunities: a. The Personal computer market is at fast pace of growth; there is large untapped market locally and globally. Lenovo is well placed to take advantage of this burgeoning market. b. The new technologies are making deep inroads in the personal computer field, making it more user-friendly and thus expanding the market with new applications. Lenovo, being backed by IBM is positioned appropriately to exploit new developments in the field of hardware. c. IBM’s long known history of R&D in the field of mainframes, servers, and personal computers is likely to benefit Lenovo immensely in the coming days. The lo w-cost manufacturing facilities coupled with technological back up from technology giant forms a good synergy in the quality conscious and price sensitive markets. Threats: a. Lenovo is pitted against some of the well known brands of the companies such as Hewlett Packard, Dell, and Acer. Any mergers among them may certainly pose a big threat to Lenovo. b. Dell and HP are expanding their manufacturing operations in China. In the event of this, the cost advantage to Lenovo will get nullified in the future. Marketing Plan Product Strategy

Forecasting key financial variables in Shariah Based Financial Research Paper

Forecasting key financial variables in Shariah Based Financial instruments - Research Paper Example ique, yield to worst (YTW) to indicate the lowest expected yield, it was observed that a normalized value of 2.57% was at stake hence, investments were likely to yield 97.43% of the expected value at maturity. Based on 1-3 year investment and normal investments, balanced scorecard analysis Evaluateed that variable-income investment was much flexible but volatile to market shocks. On the other hand, it is observed that long-term fixed-income securities are much reliable but earn little income since they are not flexible. In the United States, the population of Muslims has increased dramatically since the past twenty years. Further, there are strong indications that the wealth of the population has also grown more rapidly. In turn, the United States has developed a market for financial and banking alternatives that are compliant with the Shariah principles, as well as the religious and moral law of the Islam. The concept of Shariah compliant or Islamic finance is typically based on the core tenets of the Islamic religion pertaining to property rights, economic and social justice, and distribution of wealth as well as its governance. Among the fundamental features of the Islamic finance system is the Prohibition of Gharar (ambiguous deals and contracts) and Riba that is interested (Kabir and Mahlkrecht 201, 74). According to proponents, Islamic finance significantly contributes to the global financial system stability. Apparently, the performance as well as the relative stability of the Islamic banks and financial institutions frequently originate from the unique features of the financial instruments they provide. The Islamic finance system insists on asset backing as well as the principle of risk sharing. This helps in ensuring the direct connection between the activities of the real sector and financial transactions. In this case, this paper focuses on quantitative forecasting and analyzing volatility of Sukuk financial instrument by considering benchmarking and

Poems comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Poems comparison - Essay Example There is no irony or sarcasm in this poem, when compared with the other two. Barbie Doll refers to the chilling stereotyping a young girl, growing up, is subject to. She is expected to conform to unrealistic standards of beauty and behavior, to become a pleasing, plastic, plaything, and forget her own individuality. In the process, the girl loses her self-esteem and resorts to suicide. The only time that she is able to conform to society’s norms is after her death—which implies that these norms are killing. This urge to be stylish is referred to in Titanic as well. The urge is so strong that it is not unlikely that people, if given a chance might actually choose to voyage again on the doomed Titanic, just to be able to go down grandly! There are only two instances in the poem, where the poet uses some kind of literary flourish, by characterizing puberty as â€Å"magic† (a metaphor) and describing the girl’s good nature wearing out â€Å"like a fan belt† (a simile). However, beneath the mere presentation of facts lurks a suppressed emotion, which the reader relates to, and the result is therefore an evoking of similar emotion. Titanic, however, has no underlying emotion. The poem mocks at people’s tendency to pursue blindly, that which is considered fashionable—like lemmings rushing to a mindless death. But it certainly invokes in the reader, by its mocking style, a horror of our tendency to want to conform to the fashion of the day, irrespective of consequences. The poem highlights how modern media romanticizes even the most terrible of events, and the power of the media over our lives. Both Titanic and Barbie Doll are written in the third person, to achieve distance in the presentation, while Philadelphia, in the first person, immediately establishes emotional proximity with the reader. However, the first two poems have a certain tension, which evoke further

Forecasting key financial variables in Shariah Based Financial Research Paper

Forecasting key financial variables in Shariah Based Financial instruments - Research Paper Example ique, yield to worst (YTW) to indicate the lowest expected yield, it was observed that a normalized value of 2.57% was at stake hence, investments were likely to yield 97.43% of the expected value at maturity. Based on 1-3 year investment and normal investments, balanced scorecard analysis Evaluateed that variable-income investment was much flexible but volatile to market shocks. On the other hand, it is observed that long-term fixed-income securities are much reliable but earn little income since they are not flexible. In the United States, the population of Muslims has increased dramatically since the past twenty years. Further, there are strong indications that the wealth of the population has also grown more rapidly. In turn, the United States has developed a market for financial and banking alternatives that are compliant with the Shariah principles, as well as the religious and moral law of the Islam. The concept of Shariah compliant or Islamic finance is typically based on the core tenets of the Islamic religion pertaining to property rights, economic and social justice, and distribution of wealth as well as its governance. Among the fundamental features of the Islamic finance system is the Prohibition of Gharar (ambiguous deals and contracts) and Riba that is interested (Kabir and Mahlkrecht 201, 74). According to proponents, Islamic finance significantly contributes to the global financial system stability. Apparently, the performance as well as the relative stability of the Islamic banks and financial institutions frequently originate from the unique features of the financial instruments they provide. The Islamic finance system insists on asset backing as well as the principle of risk sharing. This helps in ensuring the direct connection between the activities of the real sector and financial transactions. In this case, this paper focuses on quantitative forecasting and analyzing volatility of Sukuk financial instrument by considering benchmarking and

Hunger and eating Essay Example for Free

Hunger and eating Essay I remember a recent situation that involved my feeling of being in distress. This involved two reports that were due in two separate classes on the same day. One class required a written report and the other class was expecting an oral report. In addition, I had to run a couple of personal errands around town, including trips to the grocery and the pharmacy for my regular supply of items for the week. During that time that required full strategic management of my spare time when I was not in class, my car started making strange noises that was probably sending me a hint that it was time for me to visit the nearest car shop. To top that, my computer was also not cooperating with me, it would freeze every time I would open several windows and would take longer than usual to boot and reboot. In order for me to avoid freaking out over these multiple unforeseen and uncontrollable situations, I would run to the nearest cafeteria or coffee shop and grab a cup of coffee or a can of soda, and even match this with a bagel or a roll. I actually did not feeling any hunger pangs during those frequent trips to food stalls, but I need the chance to be able to â€Å"run away† from my problems for a while. That gave me the notion of freedom, in the sense that I could do something that I was not really expected to. At the same time, the motion of nursing on a cup of coffee or a can of soda kept my mind off thinking of the impending doom that awaits me in the classroom, when I turn in my haphazardly written report or when I start talking in front of my class to present my oral report. In addition, my short breaks from the reality that I have too much on my plate provided me a chance to temporarily forget, or on a more serious tone, deny that I was experiencing problems that could affect my performance in the coming few days. Another reason why I would drank and ate more frequently during stressful situations is that I also thought that most of my time will be consumed by running around town and trying to resolve technical issues of my car and computer. In addition, I would also need time to sit down, read, write and prepare for the two reports that are due soon. My short frequent visits to the cafeteria, fast food restaurants and vending machines would provide me assurance that I will not feel hungry while I work on my multiple tasks. So I was eating just to let my body know that I can not feel hungry later because I will be very busy working on multiple tasks. My recent behavior during that stressful time typifies several motivational theories that are associated with hunger and eating. I knew that my body will need nourishment sometime during the day for simple biological reasons, but I decided to feed myself or eat even when I was not hungry because I wanted to get the activity of eating a meal over with, so I had more time to work on my tasks. Eating right at that moment would also provide me a chance to concentrate on my two reports for a longer duration of time. Such mindset is based on a cognitive motivational approach to eating. There are also times when I would munch on a donut during study sessions with my classmates. I wasn’t really hungry at that time (Herman and Polivy, 1984), but I felt that I should eat with them so that I could fit into the group. We were all studying and reviewing our notes and textbooks, hence I felt like I belonged to the group. And since all of them are eating donuts that were brought in by a fellow classmate, I thought that it was the right thing to join in and act the way the rest of the group was acting. It is interesting to look back at those recent events when I always had either a cup or a can of some drink in my hand. The drink also served as a safety blanket for me (Schachter, 1971), a constant reminder that things are still near-normal because I could still go around will a drink, even if I really knew that I should have been literally running around to finish all my tasks. I think that after this essay, I will have a better control of my behavior, even if there are so many expectations from me in class and at home. I now understand that there are several motivating reasons that set an individual to eat. I am glad that I have not gained a significant amount of weight after that recent event (Jequier and Tappy, 1999; Weisell, 2002), and I think I am now ready for face the next difficult school week. References Herman, CP and Polivy, J (1984): A boundary model for the regulation of eating. In: Stunkard AJ and Stellar E, eds. Eating and Its Disorders. New York: Raven Press. Jequier, E and Tappy L (1999): Regulation of body weight in humans. Physiol. Rev. 99(2):451-80. Schachter, S. (1971): Emotion, Obesity, and Crime. New York: Academic Press. Weisell, RC (2002): Body mass index as an indicator of obesity. Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr. 11:S681-S684.

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Types and Effects

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Types and Effects Statistics shows that one out of six couples experienced the problem corresponding with infertility (Olmedo, Chilik and Kopelman, 173). Infertility can be considered a disease affecting more than 80 million people around the world consisting primarily of young population accounting to around 10-15% having problems on the ability to conceive and give live births (Hochschild, Schwarze and Alam, 2008). Considering these figures, infertility becomes one of the centers of attraction especially that many couples are becoming desperate to have a child. They would just take any chances in order to have a child after for so long time having sexual intercourse but then without contraception that takes place. There are many advanced ways nowadays in order to treat infertility or even defy its capacity for couples not to experience contraception. Embryo transfer is one. Then one of the most popular is in vitro fertilization which is a technique used by 53 countries around the world today, implying that the treatment is no longer experimental but safe to use (Ezra and Schenker, 127). Causes of Infertility The continuing many studies about infertility are clear indications that the discovery on what is really is it is still on the process of creating series of scientific investigations. One of these scientific investigations is in line with knowing the probable causes of infertility. It was hypothesized that it could be due to four factors such as delayed childbearing, problem on semen quality because of bad habits such as cigarette smoking and abusive alcohol intake, changes in sexual behavior and elimination of most taboos (Olmedo, Chilik and Kopelman, 173). It is because of these considered factors that studies on infertile couples are focused on ovulatory factor which is present to 20% of couples, utero-tubal peritoneal factor which is present to 30% of couples, then 40% of couples have together the two previous factors and 15% of couples can be diagnosed because of no alterations (Olmedo, Chilik and Kopelman, 173). Statistics on IVF Statistics shows the following figures regarding in vitro fertilization (Ezra and Schenker, 127). Since it started in 1985 to be used as infertility treatment, over 53,635 women were already treated which corresponds to around 34,316 babies born by 224,473 treatment cycles then next after it were 160,518 transfer cycles. With the resulting pregnancies, around 65% to 75% were able to come up with live births then the rest went to spontaneous abortions of around 26% and ectopic pregnancies of around 5.54%. The higher rates of preterm deliveries and perinatal mortality have been expounded by around 22% of multiple pregnancy rate which was higher than the normal population. It remained to around 2.25% of chromosomal aberrations and malformations as documented within the years and success rate for in vitro fertilization did not improve within the covered period during the survey. It was noted that the procedures were becoming much more reliable due to the scope of procedures included whic h became at some point, final steps in the diagnosis. Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is part of the changes in infertility practice. It provided a right chance to study basic reproductive processes (Olmedo, Chilik and Kopelman, 173). The reason is that ART is an artificial means used in order to achieve pregnancy. In 2000, the United States reported 13.5% increase in reported cycles compared to the data presented in 1999 and overall success rate of 0.6% which represents 2.2% increase as compared to the result in 1999 (Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 1207). In 2006, Canada reported that with ART, clinical pregnancy and live birth rates continued to increase compared with the previous years, but only small rate decrease for multiple births (Gunby et al., 2189). Indicators for IVF (in vitro fertilization) Continuing studies about in vitro fertilization lead to significant findings of significant predictors for its success rate. Considering that sperm morphology is correlated with fertilization failure, then the sperm chromatin packaging was found to be significant indicator of in-vitro fertilization rates. The study of Esterhuizen et al. (657) found that sperm chromatin packaging was significantly correlated with in-vitro fertilization rates. Takahashi et al. (586) found that oocytes have great chance to be fertilized when follicles can make high concentrations of AMH in the follicular fluid. It is in this result that AMH was found to be a significant predictor for fertilization. It was found out that follicular volume can be the new indicator of oocyte maturity. The study of Fuentes et al. (616) found that SonoAVC when it comes to evaluation of stimulated ovaries can be reliable allowing further to establish new criteria for timing hCG administration on follicular volume estimation instead of the follicular size. From the result of the study of Sifer et al. (150), they found that glanula cells of humans and its resistance to apoptosis has the possibility to be associated in the success rate of IVF. There was an association between the declining of age of implanted embryo with the embryoà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s impaired growth rates (Hsu et al., 679). Based on the recent findings and investigations conducted about in vitro fertilization, the above results are just one of those showing significant indicators for the success rate of in vitro fertilization. The list goes on and on. So there are remarkable and significant indicators that can possibly be associated with IVF. Steps in the IVF Treatment Just prior to the actual IVF treatment, there are preliminary steps that need to be undergone by a patient who wants to undergo the procedure. The following are the least steps a patient who wants to undergo with IVF can possibly undergo (Falcone and Young, 93). Select infertility specialist Both partners who are involved in the treatment needs to undergo series of medical tests. Medical steps that need to be taken to address infertility needs to be considered Agreement with the infertility specialist about the chance a patient can have with IVF. IVF Techniques: The following are common IVF techniques that are commonly used to treat infertility among couples who are willing to take chances. Intra-cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) In Intra-cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) sperm is mechanically injected into the cytoplasm of an oocyte. This technique was applied initially in sea urchin, followed in mouse and hamster and was successful to humans in 1992 (Peas and Lois, 23). GIFT: Gametic Intra-fallopian Transfer As the name implies, Gametic Intra-follopian Transfer (GIFT) is the direct transfer of human gametes, sperm and oocytes in the fallopian tube which was first successful in 1984 (Serhal and Overton, 256). The good thing about GIFT is that it mimics the natural process in which the gamete is restored in the fallopian tube. Z.I.F.T. Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer Zygote intrafallopian transfer is an advanced form of gametic intrafallopian transfer. By using the gametic intra-fallopian transfer, the oocytes are harvested by transvaginal aspiration, fertilized in vitro and transfer in the fallopian tube (Schmidt and Kurjak, 85). Patients with tubal pathology cannot use zygote intrafallopian transfer as well as gametic intra-fallopian transfer (Schmidt and Kurjak, 85). T.E.T (Tubal Embryo Transfer) Tubal embryo transfer is the development of simple embryo transfer over the years. Tubal embryo transfer is part of the stage of embryogenesis transfer encompassed by zygote intrafallopina transfer in general (Allahbadia and Das, 182). P.R.O.S.T (Pronuclear Stage Transfer Just like the tubal embryo transfer, as a modification of embryo transfer, the pronuclear stage transfer is also part of the stage of embryogenesis transfer encompassed by zygote intrafallopian transfer in general (Allahbadia and Das, 182). Direct Intraperitoneal Insemination D.I.P.I In direct intraperitoneal insemination, the syringe with prepared sperm is punctured into the vaginal pouch leading to good consistency of result especially if after ovarian stimulation (Nieschlag, Behre and Nieschlag, 473). Peritoneal Occyte Sperm Transter P.O.S.T Peritoneal Occyte Sperm Transfer can be applied to women with bilateral tubal block. This procedure is an alternative to IVF. This procedure was described by Coulam et al in 1989 (Rao, 391). Direct Oocyte Sperm Transfer) D.O.S.T Another alternative to IVF is direct oocyte and sperm transfer. This can also be applied to women with bilateral tubal block. This procedure was first introduced by Craft et al. in 1982 and later in modified by Bucktt and Tan by simply having oocytes with sperm directly transferred to the uterine cavity (Rao, 392). Incubation of oocytes is done in this procedure and then followed by the actual insemination in the uterine cavity. Transuterine Fallopian Transfer) T.U.F.T Transuterine fallopian transfer is the actual placement of an embryo into the fallopian tube after IVF has been done. The procedure involves threading the tube through the uterus and placing the embryo into the fallopian tube (Blickstein and Keith, 47) Developing Embryos Embryos are formed specially because there was fertilization that took place. The fertilized egg will slowly develop into en embryo undergoing different stages. It took only 12 days in the uterus for the implantation of newly formed embryo, then it will start the development of organs within 50 days. In other words, the standard definition of embryo period is two months after fertilization (Ostnor, 3). Transferring Embryos Embryo transfer is as good as finding its failure and success. In particular, there is a great area of interest in knowing what makes embryo transfer a success or a failure. Various studies have been developed in order to find out the factors to optimize the success of embryo transfer. The study of Schoolcraft, Surrey and Gardner (863) suggested that avoidance of blood, mucus, bacterial contamination, excessive uterine contraction and trauma to the endometrium is having relationship with optimal pregnancy implantation rates after embryo transfer. More so, they also found out that unltrasonographic guidance and utilization of soft catheters will provide good chance of successful embryo transfer. Therefore, it is implied that it is important to look for factors that can be associated with embryo transfer especially on embryo implantation in maximizing IVF. The common method used in embryo transfer is transcervical intrauterine transfer. As mentioned earlier, the factors affecting its success are of great importance such as technical ability and training of personnel, catheter choice, value of a previous dummy transfer and any other factors to prevent damage of the uterine lining, bleeding and uterine contractions (Pasqualini and Quintans, 83). According to the study of Pasqualini and Quintans, the mentioned factors have negative effects on the pregnancy rates. In fact, the actual concern in embryo transfer is as much as possible eliminate or if not minimize multiple pregnancies and any unwanted side effects. Single embryo transfer and culture in the blastocyst stages are means commonly used to prevent multiple pregnancies. Techniques such as ultrasound-controlled transcervical intrauterine transfer and ultrasound-controlled transmyometrial transfer are of great interest since these are often used in order to properly and successfully i mplement embryo transfer. However there are also more invasive procedures that need to be taken consideration in embryo transfer such as the following: gamete intra-Fallopian transfer (GIFT), zygote intra-Fallopian transfer (ZIFT), pronuclear stage transfer and embryo intra-Fallopian transfer (EIFT). These techniques are commonly used when the need to use of alternative assisted reproductive technologies cannot be substantially catered by laboratories. However in todayà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s highly refined laboratories, alternative assisted reproductive technologies such as direct intra-follicular insemination, fallopian spermatic perfusion and peritoneal stage and sperm transfer and intra vaginal culture can highly be performed even with high precision. Positive and Negative Effects of IVF Treatment As mentioned earlier, IVF has already gained wider scope of acceptance in the field of medicine. However, such acceptance needs to be considered even more especially on finding the positive and negative effects of IVF treatment. Even though there is a chance for successful conception with IVF treatment, it still remains a challenge today considering that not everyone has the same level of bodily response to the treatment. There are many things that need to be considered in detail. This detail can somehow be significant factor that will slowly give more meaningful improvement in the treatment. For instance, the ovarian stimulation is said to be very important especially in the assisted reproductive technologies (Ubaldi et al. 235). The ovarian stimulation is said to be associated with several factors as far as its reduction is concerned. When it is reduced, the mutltifollicular growth will live to be a great challenge and it continues to be the most frequent aetilogical factor. Thus, it remains a challenge when it comes to predicting ovarian response. This is just one of the important considerations with respect to obtaining successful IVF treatment. The negative thing about it is that there is no enough assurance for everyone that it can be successful. Thus, there is a continuing area for the body of knowledge covering the issues about the success and failure of IVF treatment. Another thing, with IVF those couples who have been psychologically depressed and at the same time so determined to have an offspring are most likely to feel discomfort the moment procedure or treatment fails. This is a common scenario. However, there are also some couples who have been so determined and it would be enough for them knowing they still have chance with IVF. This is comforting on their side at some point knowing that they still have the chance even if that chance of getting failed is also high. Cloning and In Vitro Fertilization Cloning aside from in vitro fertilization is also one of the most highly studied areas in the field of genetics and molecular biology. There are good points about cloning especially when it comes to food production and other related aspects. However, there is a great challenge of cloning when it comes to creating human beings. The reason is that there are various ethical and political challenges when it comes to its implementation if ever it would be allowed. Cloning therefore cannot be applied to humans but for other animals and plants, it is well appreciated and even now it is already put into implementation for the purpose of food production and other related concerns. Thus, when talking about cloning and in vitro fertilization, even if there is a high chance of failure in the latter, it remains to be the mostly studied in the field of human fertilization. Conclusion Modern techniques in human reproduction have slowly evolved and even the rate of success is becoming remarkably promising. The reason is that there are continuous studies applied in this field resulting to more discoveries of promising and significant information in order to improve the methods and procedures involved in the modern techniques of human reproduction. The case of IVF is a very important contribution to the development of modern techniques of human reproduction in modern times. The emergence of different methods and techniques related to modern techniques of reproduction is a clear indication how important is reproduction to humans. In fact, the bottom line of these all is the fact that humans are designed to reproduce which is meant to be part of their biological design.

Stem Cells Essay -- Ethical Issues, Embryonic Stem Cells

Content 1. Introduction 2. The unique properties of stem cells and the ways of reception. 3. The application of stem cells in curing the worldwide diseases. i. The effectiveness of using stem cells in diabetes treatment and possible risks of this therapy. ii. What are the benefits and risks of using stem cells in curing cardiac disorders, such as ischemic disease and stroke? iii. How neural disorders, such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and spinal cord injuries can be treated by stem cells and what are the fears about application of this therapy on human? 4. The issues connected with stem cells research. 5. Conclusion 6. Reference list 1. Introduction The world of science is developing very rapidly. This can be explained by the desire of people to know everything, e.g. the origins of life, the structure of human’s organism, the secrets of universe etc. The one of a set of branches in science is regenerative medicine, which includes stem cells research. Generally, stem cells are unique cells in the human’s body, which have an ability to renew themselves and become specialized into liver cells, kidney cells or spinal cord cells from unspecialized type of cells. There are several advantages and disadvantages of using stem cells in treatment the most common diseases of the world. The subject of this research project is to evaluate the benefits and risks of using stem cells in curing global diseases. It merits study, because stem cells are the constituent part of human organism and their abilities must be explored, in order to use them in therapies for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes me llitus, spinal cord injuries and cardiac disorders. It is significant to know possible risks of using stem cells, as wel... ...w neural disorders, such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and spinal cord injuries can be treated by stem cells and what are the fears about application of this therapy on human? The scientists are suggested that stem cells have a great potential in treatment the neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and spinal cord injuries, but at the same time these therapies have several risks, which can be explained by not enough investigations in this field and requires more time to do it. The Parkinson’s disorder is a type of neurodegenerative diseases, which is characterized by death of special cells, which produce a chemical, called dopamine. Dopamine is responsible for human’s movement, because it carries the signals to the brain. The loss of these cells can cause symptoms, such as tremors, rigidity and disability to move (Wu 2010).

Buddhism :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the early parts of my life, I learned about all of the laws that restrict our actions, as practitioners of Buddhism. I was educated about the four basic truths that all Buddhists believe. The four basic truths are Dukkha, Samudaya, Nirodha, and Marga (Anderson 24). Dukkha, or its meaning in English, suffering, tells of all the frustration in life. In order to find the end of suffering, I found that one must review the purpose for the suffering to being in one’s life (Harvey 49). the second holy truth, Samudaya deals with the origin of suffering. In my studies and from what material I was instructed, I learnedin order to deal with suffering one must find out its cause in their life. After one has found the cause, then we can begin to do something about it ( â€Å"Four Noble Truths Part I† 3). Nirodha, the third truth, is the extinction of suffering. To be able to end the sufferingone must think that the suffering can end and have confidence in attaining the end of suffering ( â€Å"Four Noble Truths Part I† 5/6). Marga, or the fourth noble truth is also known as the eight-fold path. Avoiding indulgences in pleasure and temptation are the ways to walk down this path ( â€Å"Four Noble Truths Part II† 3). As I was instructed on the eight-fold path I learned that in order to attain the end of suffering I needed to have all of the â€Å"right† pieces of the puzzle. These are right understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihook, effort, mindfulness, and concentration (â€Å"Buddhist Teachings† 1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In my religion we have a code of ethics that tells our followers to avoid stealing, lying, killing all living organisms, committing improper sexual activity, and destructive occupations (Anderson 26/27). the five governing precepts explain more in depth about the code of ethics. The first precpt says to refrain form taking life away from all that are breathing (Harvey 202). I and many other followers are vegetarians because of this precept. In the second precept stealing is prohibited. Improper sexual activity is covered in the third precept. In it, it tells us that sexual activity is only to be used in order to conceive children. Polygamy, adultery, and incest are also forbidden in this precept. Lying, or as the fourth precept calls it, false speech is also forbidden (Harvey 206). The fifth precept covers alcohol and improper drug use. It is said that if one breaks this precept that person is more likely to break any or all of the previous precepts (Harvey

Traditional Cultures Report

All traditional cultures are susceptible to change due to a variety of factors that encourage the acceptance of new tools and ideas (O'Neil 1). Some of these factors include changes in the environment, contact or interaction between societies, and other forces at work within a community. Nevertheless, Haviland, Prins, McBride and Walrath (363) argue that culture change is mostly unplanned or unforeseen; hence, all changes are not adaptive or positive. Culture change may lead to invention where new ideologies and technologies are introduced to the society or culture loss where traditional cultural patterns are replaced by new cultures such as in marriage. Therefore, this report will focus on how the traditional cultural patterns of marriage have been replaced by new ideas through globalization modernization and changed the institution of marriage today. Marriage is a dynamic part of life, which is characterized by a wedding in most cultures. However, the reason why people get married vary from one individual to another, though most people get married in order to have a legally binding relationship, which is intimate and lasting. Parties getting married must have the ability to understand the duties and responsibilities involved, as well as the nature of the marriage contract. Also, they must consent to marry willingly and cannot be forced to do so by any one. Most cultures have a minimum age for marriage; for instance, in Canada, the minimum age is sixteen with parental consent, or eighteen or nineteen without any parental consent. Blood relationships (consanguinity) and close relationships (affinity) in marriage are also prohibited in most cultures. However, through globalization and modernization, the institution of marriage has changed through acculturation, diffusion, innovation, and cultural loss (Haviland et al 363). Some marriage ideas have been borrowed from other societies, and replaced the traditional ones while others have been created and accepted widely by other communities. In addition, dominant and powerful societies have expanded their cultural practices across borders; thus, forcing other societies to forsake their traditional cultural practices in marriage and adopt the new ones. According to Haviland et al (410), globalization plays a significant role in shaping the future of the world. It refers to a process that transforms local traditions and cultures into global ones; hence, resulting in investment, trade and cultural exchange across the borders. Globalization signifies the removal of mostly economic barriers in order to assist in inter-cultural relations. Thus, it is the best way to end discrimination since it encourages inter-cultural and inter-racial marriage. However, globalization has changed how the marriage ceremony used to be conducted in Africa. Most African countries practiced traditional marriages where the bride and the groom got married under the customary law. It was a requirement for the family of the groom to pay dowry to the bride’s family before marriage. Through globalization, most African societies have borrowed the idea of weddings, which is a common practice in the west (Browning 102). As a result, the traditional cultural practice of marriage has weakened and the payment of dowry is no longer a requirement. Similarly, modernization refers to a process through which the society goes through industrialization, urbanization and other social changes based on the social organization and development of technology. According to Browning (102), modernization is also referred to as globalization if the changes involved occur in all parts of the world. However, although most people believe that modernization helps the society to change and develop, it is also a threat to the quality and stability of marriage. One of the major effects of modernization in marriage is the evident in parenthood. Traditionally, women were expected to stay at home and take care of their children and husbands by cooking, washing, and doing other household chores. The husband was supposed to be the sole bread winner and worked outside the home, but this traditional practice has greatly changed due to modernization, which has encouraged gender equality. Women no longer stay at home; rather, they have careers and are the sole bread winners of the family while men stay at home and take care of household chores, as well as raise their children. According to the traditional culture, every woman and man was expected to get married, and live together as husband and wife. Today, this cultural practice is no longer observed because some couples choose not to get married, but still live together as a married couple in a common-law relationship, which is referred to as cohabitation (Jervis 1). Moreover, traditionally unmarried partners were not required to support each other financially, but currently, some cultures recognize cohabiting couples as spouses. Thus, they have legal responsibility to support each other and have the benefits that legally married couples enjoy. In the traditional culture, marriages were expected to last a life time; hence, divorce cases were very rare. However, modernization has played a big role in empowering women and encouraging gender equality, which Jervis (1), believes is one of the main causes of divorce in the modern world. Both the traditional culture and the modern culture work for the society because they suit the conditions in the society. According to Giddens (45), change from traditional culture to modern culture is one of the greatest achievements in the society today. This is because traditional culture is said to be one of the many factors that hinder development. As discussed earlier, modernization has changed the traditional culture of marriage through gender equality such that women now have careers. However, although many tend to run away from their parental duties, studies have proved that gender equality is one of the major factors that drive development. Nevertheless, since culture is constantly changing, I believe it is the duty of the society to ensure that development and culture complement each other in order to protect the institution of marriage. In conclusion, the traditional culture is said to be held together by relationships in the society such as family, marriage and tribe. Societies where traditional culture is still strong understand that relationships among people are highly essential in order for their cultural practices to survive. However, globalization and modernization has resulted in the creation of modern culture where relationships among people such as marriage and family are no longer valued. Giddens (92), states that unlike the traditional culture, modern culture is held together by things and power, and not by relationships and people.

Forensic Science Mod 12 Review Essay

1. What is a comparison microscope? What are the advantages of this microscope? A comparison Microscope is 2 microscopes in one it allows you to view 2 slides at once. This is a huge advantage because it allows you to compare evidence with known sample. 2. What are the three substances that generally make up paint? Describe each part. The three substances that generally make up paint are Pigments, Binders and Solvent. Pigments are what produce a particular color of paint. Binders are what provide support for the paint and the solvent is what makes the paint into a liquid. 3. What are polymers? Polymers are substances that are made up of many atoms that form in repeating patterns. 4. What is a scanning electron microscope? What are its advantages? The scanning electron microscope is a microscope that works by shooting beams of electrons at the slide and recording the emissions of the electrons. One advantage is that it has much better magnification than other microscopes! 5. What is the PDQ? What is it used for? The PDQ also known as the Paint Data Quarry is a database that allows some forensic labs to compare automobile paint to narrow down the paint color to the make and model of a car. Critical Thinking Questions 1. What are some of the challenges for forensic scientists in dealing with fiber evidence? Some challenges for Forensic Scientists dealing with fibers are that they have to find these tiny pieces of evidence. 2. What does it mean if a paint sample â€Å"matches† a known sample from a vehicle? Does this indicate the same source? Why or why not? 3. Why are microscopes important to forensic scientists? Microscopes are important to forensic science because it allows us to compare and analyze evidence such as trace evidence. 4. What elements of paint can help forensic scientists compare samples to each other? Paint samples can be compared to each other by comparing the three core products the! Which are pigments which are added to make a certain color? Another is the  Binder which provides support to the paint and Solvents which are there to disperse these substances.

Technology Management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Technology Management - Term Paper Example In this paper, the impacts of technology on; cost of business, human resources and customer satisfaction will be examined with the intention of establishing its import in the aforementioned sectors. Many organizations are to a large extent dependent on computers to handle their administrative tasks such as inventories bookkeeping and other clerical tasks which were traditionally handled exclusively by personnel. The advent of the internet as well as growth in the diversity and capacity of computing hard and soft ware has significantly reduced the cost of doing business; computer are increasingly becoming more powerful and cheaper to run due to the exponential growth in innovation. In addition, business owners and other entrepreneurs are better able to understand the cash flow and manage their storage and other running costs better ultimately saving time and money. For instance, today with only a laptop, one can open a business or even run a company without requiring to rent office sp ace or hiring employees, the computer can store all the information they need and they can use it to communicate with customers, suppliers as well as carrying out product promotion. The availability of online marketing and sales means one can order and ship goods from point A to point B in the comfort of their home. Furthermore, technology reduces the need for human resource since a computer can carry out tasks that were traditionally done by employees thus further reducing the cost of starting and running a business. The use of bookkeeping software such as QuickBooks and automated sales functions such as sales force allows business owners and managers to focus of strategy by cutting down the running costs and labour expenses. Technology also provides means through which to cut indirect costs, these include cost of commuting which can be scaled down since with the option of telecommuting , one can work from home. Ergo, they will not only save on fuel costs but also reduce the amount of time they spend getting ready to go to office as well as traffic jam which at times cost both employees and their employer’s valuable time which could be used profitably. Technology has helped to reduce the cost of storage by eliminating the need for double or triple entry systems as well as amounts of paperwork that needs to be filed arranged and stored, customer data, contracts and any relevant information can be stored on online or hardware databases and accessed in seconds. Information and advertisement cost can also be scaled down significantly through technology, for example instead of costly TV ads, many firms are opting for online advertising through social media such as Facebook which can reach more people transcending geopolitical borders and which is either low cost or free. According to Jeff Wourio, a manager at Microsoft co-operations, inculcating technology solutions in business is crucial owing to the fact that with technology one can have among other thing s an online presence and that way they can cut down the costs of advertising significantly and transfer the resources to improving product quality. Online marketing provides a fairly affordable and at times even free avenue through which a company can, not only reach millions of consumers globally but also create a following of (fans/follower/friends) which serve to enhance