Thursday, October 31, 2019

The Importance of Diversity in the University Research Paper

The Importance of Diversity in the University - Research Paper Example While institutional diversity is highly regarded as a positive thing by many, others argue that it can lead to institutional drift and mission overload if parity of esteem does not prevail between institutional types. Despite the many benefits associated with institutional diversity, many institutions of learning in the current day education system are highly characterized with student bodies which are highly deficient of the desired diversity (Vught, 2009). Many factors have been put forth to explain this severe lack of diversity in the institutions of higher learning among them being lack of proper selection mechanisms into the institutions of higher learning and discrimination during the selection process (Devins, 2003). Emergence of many private institutions offering higher education is another major causative agent for higher deficiencies of diversity in higher institutions of learning. Such institutions are merely profit driven and at times tend to compromise the educational va lues associated with diversity. They often concentrate on the breed of students who are capable of raising the huge amounts of tuition fees they charge with less regard to diversity balance (Warner and Palfreyman 2001). In attempts to enhance diversity in institutions of higher learning, states and governments have well defined legal provisions focusing on matters related to students’ diversity (Mellor, 2008). The numerous benefits associated with a diverse student body are universally acknowledged and practices such as provision of racial bonus points are constitutional in some nations. This offers the minority foreign applicants a higher probability of securing places in institutions of higher learning outside their own countries. In other provisions, race is an important factor during admissions for undergraduate programs (Vught, 2009). This helps to achieve a balanced ethnic diversity hence attaining the so much desired diversity in the student body. Notable also is the i ncorporation of affirmative action policies in many public education systems, a strategic move usually geared towards elimination of discrimination and also aimed at coming up with a student body which is ethically balanced in order to a achieve a diverse student body. In most states, measures to mitigate discrimination based on gender, colour, race, religion, which are deeply embedded in their constitutions (Bankston, 2006). Everyone has equal rights to access education and this further enhances diversity since selection process is free and fair and not in favor of any particular group of people. To further uphold diversity in higher institutions of learning, special consideration is usually given to special groups of people in the society (Pollak and Louis, 2005). Women and the disabled for instance are at times given special consideration during the selection process to ensure their numbers in the institutions of higher learning match that of their male counterparts. An important legal provision also aimed at upholding diversity in the institutions of higher learning is the great emphasis given to respect of basic human rights. For purposes of peaceful co-existence of the diverse student community, basic human rights such religious and cultural rights are highly upheld. This allows easy integration of people of different cultural and religious background in a

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

How can Starbucks react to the threat of McDonalds selling low cost Essay

How can Starbucks react to the threat of McDonalds selling low cost coffee - Essay Example I would be failing in my duty if I don’t thank all those employees of Starbucks and McDonalds who responded to the phone calls and e-mails sent to these organizations. Last but not the least, I would like to thank all my friends who have been supporting and helping me with this assignment. Table of Contents Contents Pages Executive Summary 4-5 Introduction 5 McDonald’s Vs Starbucks 5-6 Problem for Starbucks 6 Sources of Information 6-7 SWOT Analysis 7-8 Financial Analysis 8-9 Findings 10 Recommendations 10-11 Appendices 12-25 Works Cited 26 How Can Starbucks React to the Threat of McDonalds Selling Low Cost Coffee? Executive Summary Starbucks and McDonald's are big multinational companies that have made their presence felt in the businesses they operate in. Seattle based Starbucks was founded with the objective of providing Italian espresso bar experience in the United States. As a business strategy Starbucks operates by forming a personal relationship with its consumer s. On the other hand McDonalds is a family restaurant and attracts people from all age groups. Strictly speaking, both these behemoths have distinct target markets. Starbucks attracts the affluent while customers who are price sensitive are McDonald’s target market. McDonald’s has rolled out its low-priced coffee brand and in the process has started eating into the share of Starbucks. McDonald's appears well placed to become Starbucks’ biggest competitor in the specialty coffee segment in the coming years. Starbucks now has to devise strategies to counter McDonald’s move and not let its market share dip. The present paper is a commentary on ‘How can Starbucks react to the threat of McDonalds selling low cost coffee? To answer this question relevant information on both these companies has been collected from various primary and secondary sources. A comparison has been made on the business operations of both Starbucks and McDonald’s, SWOT analy sis has been carried out and finally a financial comparison has been made. Some alternatives that can be adopted by Starbucks to react to McDonald’s move have been suggested based on aforesaid analysis. I personally feel that Starbucks should not respond to McDonald’s move with a price cut, rather it should elevate the quality perception in the minds of the customer and build a set of loyal customers who are willing to pay a premium price in exchange of getting the ‘coffee experience’ that Starbucks has to offer. Introduction I have decided to write a commentary on ‘How can Starbucks react to the threat of McDonalds selling low cost coffee? I have chosen this topic since it involves two big U.S. based companies who have worldwide operations, have a huge set of loyal customer base and are well known for their quality products. Starbucks Vs McDonald’s Starbucks is Italian-style coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. The company was foun ded in 1971 and has more than 17, 000 retail stores in 60 countries. Since inception Starbucks has believed in serving the best coffee to its customers. In fact, the company delivers much more than a simple cup of high quality coffee; it ensures a wonderful experience for the customer. A look at the product portfolio of Starbucks clearly indicates that the company has a huge variety of coffee

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Environmental Effect of the Meat Industry

The Environmental Effect of the Meat Industry One of the fastest growing industries in the world today is the meat/livestock industry. Meat is considered a normal good, which means that demand for meat increases as consumer income increases. Traditionally, meat has been regarded as an expensive food item in Western countries. As world population is increasing and as economies of the developing countries are getting stronger, demand for meat is also growing (Vinnari, 2008). Meat industry is one of those sectors that are one of the biggest contributors of global gas emissions and have big environmental and social impacts. The use of land, energy, water, and various emissions and wastes are all widely recognized by people and governments (Vinnari, 2008). According to a report by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, also known as the FAO, meat production is accountable for about a fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions. It is widely accepted in the scientific world that greenhouse gases like carbon and methane are c ausing rapid global climate change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. Yet, the meat industry business seems to be unperturbed by the state of the environment, inhumane treatment of animals, or the unhygienic conditions in which they are kept which leads to spread of diseases like bird flu in humans. Over the years, meat industry has adopted practices that are unethical. For example in many countries, primarily in the United States, most of the cattle are grain fed as opposed to grass fed. This is so that the cattle can grow bigger and fatter, faster. While it may very well be profitable for the industry, it is unethical in the sense that it is inhumane. There are also social implications as a large amount of grain is fed to the cattle when there are people dying from hunger all over the world. Unhygienic conditions of the feedlots question business practices of the industry. As a food industry, it owes a duty of care to its customers and has a responsibility of provid ing quality food that is free of bacteria or virus which can be very harmful to the human health. According to the FAO report, meat consumption is estimated to more than double by the year 2050 (McMichael, Powles Uauy, 2007). With depleting natural resources, such as water and land cover, it will become harder to meet the demands of the growing human population. In such a scenario, the industry will most likely adopt practices that are even more unethical than the existing ones. It is therefore, not only important for businesses to take on sustainable meat production practices but also imperative for us, the consumer, to study our meat consumption habits and make certain changes in our lifestyle. Since we utilize resources from this planet, our natural environment is our responsibility. Educating ourselves and changing our meat consumption patterns will definitely slow down and to some extent get rid of the problem that the meat industry has and is creating. In this assignment, I w ill be discussing the environmental and social implications of the meat industry and then analyze from the perspective of various ethical theories. Environmental Impact Analysis: As mentioned above in the introduction, meat production and consumption has many environmental and social implications. It is imperative for businesses and consumers to recognize the problem and work towards mitigating the impacts. For the purpose of this assessment, I will be considering the environmental impacts i.e. resource usage/depletion and global warming as well as the social impacts i.e. unequal distribution of food, inhumane treatment of animals and analyzing them using different ethical theories. I will also be providing recommendations to curtail the growing impact of the industry. Resource Depletion: Our natural environment provides important ecosystem services like food, recreational opportunities, disease regulation that human life ultimately depends upon. Overtime, humans have changed and altered the ecosystem by depleting it in order to meet the growing human demands of freshwater, timber and food. As human population is increasing, per capita demand for ecosystem services is also growing at a fast pace and how these demands are met will determine the future of ecology and economy of our planet. Meat industry poses a major threat to the ecosystem as human activities continue to clear forests in order to grow crops that will be fed to cattle and use water to rear cattle. It is estimated that food production will need to double by the year 2030 to feed the projected global human population of around 9 billion people. Water scarcity is already a problem in many countries as around two billion people suffer from the lack of it and it is estimated that the number of people facing water scarcity will double by the year 2030 (Bennet Balvanera, 2007). Livestock uses about a third of the worlds entire land surface which includes pastures and arable land that provides livestock feed. As Chinese, European and US farmers are running out of land to rear animals for meat and crop production, demand for meat is forcing intensive agriculture into tropical rainforests of developing countries like Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay (McMichael, Powles Uauy, 2007). Global Warming: Global warming is a widely accepted phenomenon and most of the impacts of global warming can already be seen across the world. Retreating glaciers, rising sea levels, thawing tundra, hurricanes and extreme weather conditions are increasing both in frequency and intensity and animals such as penguins, polar bears are struggling to survive. Many species are finding it hard to adapt to changing weather because it is becoming very unpredictable (Koneswaran Nierenberg, 2008 ). Most of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide (around 35 percent) are due to agriculture practices, primarily animal husbandry and land changes associated with the process of rearing animals for meat. Emissions from this sector are higher than the transport sector or the power generation sector. Two powerful greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide associated with livestock production, contribute more to global warming than carbon dioxide (McMichael, Powles Uauy, 2007). An FAO report on the current and future effe cts of livestock production on the worlds environment and climate states that the livestock sector is growing faster than any other sector and most of this growth is going to happen in developing countries, i.e. in countries with low to middle incomes (McMichael, Powles Uauy, 2007). Livestock production which includes deforestation for grazing land and producing soy feed for animals, carbon lost from soil that is grazed, energy used for growing feed crops, for processing and transporting grains and meat, nitrous oxide released from the use of nitrogenous fertilizers, and gases like methane from animal manure and enteric fermentation all contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Nine percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, 30-40 percent of methane emissions and 65 percent of all nitrous oxide emissions come from this sector. Methane and nitrous oxide are known to have a greater warming potential than does carbon dioxide (McMichael, Powles Uauy, 2007). Production of fertilizers fo r feed crops requires burning of fossil fuels which releases about 41 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. These fertilizers are produced in factories that depend on fossil fuel energy. Animal populations in large and confined factory like settings have significantly increased and along with it has increased methane emissions from both the animals and their manure. These factory like landless facilities produce more manure than can be used as fertilizer on cropland. This manure is distributed to a landmass which usually results in soil accumulation and runoff of pollutants like phosphorous and nitrogen. Half of the energy produced from fossil fuel goes into heating, cooling and ventilation of these facilities and the other half goes into producing seeds, herbicides, pesticides and in the operation of farm machinery (Koneswaran Nierenberg, 2008). Majority of the countries in Africa and Asia currently use pasture based methods to raise animals. However this trend is likely to change as countries in Latin America and some countries in Asia are starting to favor intensive farming methods like the one seen in developed counties like the United States (Koneswaran Nierenberg, 2008). Forests and soils act as carbon sinks as they hold much of the carbon dioxide. Deforestation and degradation of land release much of this stored carbon gas back into the atmosphere thus increasing level of the gas in the atmosphere. Animal agriculture is a major reason for conversion of wooded land into cropland for feed production or grazing land, and deforestation emits 2.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. A big negative impact of the meat industry can be seen in Latin America which has seen the largest net loss of forests and greatest emission of stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (Koneswaran Nierenberg, 2008). Theory Application: Knowing the impacts of meat production on the environment, various theories can be applied in favor of changing our production and consumption patterns. Utilitarianism, a consequentialist theory, states that an action is morally right if it results in maximum benefit for all parties involved. Utilitarianism evaluates right and wrong action by considering costs and harms and weighing them against benefits (Kunkel, 1996). Since this theory advocates maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain, it would support changing meat consumption patterns to curtail growing ill effects of meat production on the environment. If we compare the costs of meat production to the benefits, we will realize that the cost and harm is much greater than the limited benefits that are achieved. Limited benefits being employment, pleasures of taste, profits for industry, and harm being damage done to the environment. Intrinsic value of nature holds higher worth than all the benefits of the meat industry combined an d it deserves to be protected. Our natural environment provides many important ecosystem services that cannot be replaced if our environment is destroyed or our ecosystems are altered. Everyone on this planet depends on these ecosystem services and any irreversible damage will affect each and every one of us. Ethics of duty states that in order to be moral every person should have a realization of a sense of duty (Baron, 1985). I believe that since we use services provided by the environment and since the ecosystem services are so crucial to our existence and survival, we have a duty towards the natural world and we should preserve it to ensure live continues to flourish. However, the meat industry operates contrary to this belief. It degrades our natural environment by deforestation, water consumption, fossil fuel use, and adding to global warming through greenhouse gas emissions. If we consider the Islamic environmental ethics, it also states that humans owe a duty to the natural world. Islamic law (Shariah) states that conservation of the environment is based on the principle that the environment and everything it consists of is created by God and everything has a function in the natural environment. Just because humans make use of various environmental services, it does not mean that human use is the only reason for their creation. It thus states that all humans have a duty to preserve and protect it (Deen, 1990). Social Impact Analysis: Every business has its share of environmental and social impacts, and meat industry has some obvious impacts on the environment and the society within which it operates. As with the environment, meat industry also has numerous social impacts that are growing with time. Social impacts include humans as well as animals and contemporary methods of meat production tend to overlook these impact. Developing or poor countries are and will bear the brunt of consequences being brought about by climate change. Environmental degradation is a medium for current conflicts and instability in many areas of Sudan. With rising temperatures, and depleting water resources, farmers and herders are fighting with each other to gain access and control of these natural commodities. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said that that two of the major problems in Sudan- land degradation and desertification are caused by an explosive growth in livestock numbers( Koneswaran Nierenberg, 2008). United Nations Secretary, General Ban Ki-moon also said that natural disasters caused by climate change will trigger war and conflicts around the world. As global temperatures change, infectious diseases spread more quickly and affect more people (Koneswaran Nierenberg, 2008). Equitable distribution of food is also a major concern since half the worlds poverty stricken population goes to bed hungry every night. Excessive meat production consumes most of the crop production that could have fed millions of people around the world. It takes twenty pounds of grain to feed a cow which is to be slaughtered to produce one pound of beef protein. It only seems like a waste when those twenty pounds of grain that were fed to the cow could have been used to feed many people in that country (Shaw Newholm, 2002). It is usually the poor countries that suffer from climactic changes. Majority of human induced global warming is caused by operations of industrialized nations, and it is the poorer nations that suffer from such operations. Global warming most affects areas that are hot and dry. These are also the regions where infectious diseases spread rapidly. When a natural disaster strikes, people in these poor nations suffer the most because they have more difficulty in moving away from changes in climate and they also experience difficulties in buying food incase crop is destroyed or its productivity is affected (Mendelsohn, Dinar Williams, 2006). According to FAOSTAT, around 56 billion animals are reared and slaughtered for human consumption every year and this number is only going to increase over time, primarily in the developing world (Koneswaran Nierenberg, 2008). Inhumane treatment of animals is also a harsh reality of the meat industry. Thousands of animals are locked up in cramped, confined spaces and kept on high doses of vitamins and antibiotics to reduce the risk of diseases. In countries like the US, cattle are grain fed as so it can grow bigger faster. These unnatural conditions not only increase stress for the animal but also leads to higher occurrence of density-promoted diseases. Studies have found that crowding often includes cannibalistic attacks among poultry and pigs. Other practices that question meat industry practices include inflicting pain by castration, branding, dehorning, beak trimming, and inadequate stunning before slaughter. Deep muscle myopathy, fluid accumulation and skeletal disorders associa ted with accelerated muscle growth and restricted movement can be seen quite commonly in facilities where animals are mass produced for meat (Smil, 2002). Not only is the treatment of animals inhumane in most of these facilities, but also these facilities are not exactly hygienic and do not ensure that the meat produced is fit for human consumption. Waste water loaded with nitrate and animal excrement often seeps into groundwater. Mad cow disease was caused by feeding ground sheep brains to cows and unfortunately it is still widely used practice in animal husbandry. Between the years 1980-1996 over 750,000 head of cattle infected with this disease were slaughtered for human consumption in Britain. Other such cases include H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu) that spread from chicken and killed many people in Hong Kong (Smil, 2002). Meat packing is United States one of most dangerous occupations. In 2002, about 25 percent of employees in meat packing factories experienced nonfatal occupational injury or illness whereas serious/fatal injuries and illness were five times the national average, and frequency of repeated physical traumas such as back problems and tendinitis is 30 times higher than the private industry mean (Smil, 2002). Theory Application: Utilitarianism also justifies changing meat consumption patterns when taking into consideration the social impacts of the industry. Whether it is the inhumane treatment of animals, exploitation of natural resources which often leads to social unrest in poor countries, impact of human induced global climate change, meat industry both directly and indirectly creates and facilitates a number of problems in the society. . Utilitarianism focuses on creating maximum benefit for maximum number of people. It therefore supports reducing meat consumption as not only does production of meat require more land, water and energy usage than production of crops, it leads to inequitable distribution of food around the world. Utilitarianism can be argued on the grounds of animal welfare because we dont have a need for animal products and we can survive without. Our penchant for meat is only a matter of taste. Our interests in animals and animal products hold lesser value and cannot be more important t han animals interest in life and freedom from suffering (George, 1994). When we compare the benefits of the industry to the amount of harm or pain it brings to the society, the harm/loss clearly outweighs the benefits/pleasure supporting the premise of this paper that meat industry has very unethical and unsustainable practices and that we as consumers should rethink our consumption patterns and the industry should also change to reduce its enormous negative impact on the environment and the society. Ethics of rights states that every living creature is entitled to certain basic rights such as the right to life, security and freedom from harm. Just because cognitive abilities of animals are not as developed as those of humans, it does not suggest that they are incapable of feeling pleasure or pain and it doesnt give humans any reason to inflict pain upon them. In fact, having higher cognitive ability puts greater responsibility on humans to respect other creatures because we have a sense of morality and the ability to reason. Animals also are entitled to have certain natural rights, such as the right to life (Regan, 1980). Animals are part of the moral community and failure to acknowledge that is called speciesism. Speciesism is wrong and unethical in the same way that racism and sexism is wrong (George, 1994). Humans and animals are similar in that they both have similar interests in not being harmed or killed, and because we share that relationship, we should show more sensitiv ity towards other living things. Humans and non humans are subject-of-a-life and experience pain, suffering, and various emotions. Inherent value is contrasted with instrumental value that tools and other objects have. Just like humans, animals too are subjects-f-a-life and have an intrinsic value. Therefore, they should not be regarded as means to the end of others. They should not be treated as tools but should be respected for what they are. Because animals have rights, it is unethical to exploit them and kill them for our own pleasure or economic benefit (George, 1994). Animal welfare can also be justified on the grounds of ethics of care which states that a moral person is one who cares for others and is considerate of the other persons needs (Li, 1994). It puts an emphasis on values such as caring and advocates maintaining relationships with peace and harmony. If we consider religious ethics then Hinduism advocates practicing Ahimsa or non- violence with fellow creatures as it stresses acting with care. Ahimsa is quite similar to the western philosophy of ethics of care (feminist ethics) in that it also emphasizes having non-harmful intent in all actions and absence of enmity toward other people and animals. Ahimsa teaches acting with care towards others and being thoughtful of how your actions can affect those around you. It promotes love and non-hostility towards all beings and its goal is to eliminate violence from our nature (Corner, 2009). The meat industry works in contradiction to the concept of ahimsa and ethics of care. It doesnt have any regard for the environment, nor does it show empathy for animals that are slaughtered. The concept of ahimsa and ethics of care is the antithesis of the meat industry. Meat industry doesnt do anything to build a harmonious relationship with the environment or with the animals. We also see lack of care and concern for people who are affected by industrial practices. Most affected by the industry are poor people in developing countries who depend on resources being exploited by the meat industrys unsustainable practices. As meat industries are buying land in the developing world to grow feed crop, local indigenous people are losing the land that they depend upon for survival (Repetto Holmes, 1983). This again underscores the fact that practices of meat industry do not fit in with ethics of care or ahimsa. Conclusion and Recommendation: Meat industry has an egoistic approach in that it focuses on meeting short term interests of economic prosperity while ignoring the long term negative impact on the environment. The analysis above makes it quite clear that meat industry has severe long term environmental and social implications and that its unsustainable and callous practices are beyond the pale. Its not possible to shut down the meat industry completely as long as there are consumers. However, the best we can do as responsible and rational beings is to educate ourselves on the impacts, make lifestyle changes and rethink our meat consumption habits to mitigate the impact of the meat industry. It is equally important for the industry to take on sustainable meat production practices. As consumers we can make certain lifestyle changes such as switching to meat analogues or mock meat, and reducing our real meat consumption. Governments can play their part by transferring agricultural production away from meat production in countries where meat production is the highest (Vinnari, 2008). Governments should also remove subsidies and place higher taxes on meat products. By doing so, consumers will have to pay more for meat which will likely decrease meat consumption (Shaw Newholm, 2002). Technological advancements of product Ad campaigns can make a big difference by increasing consumer knowledge about animal rights, meat production, and its negative social as well as environmental impacts (Vinnari, 2008).

Friday, October 25, 2019

From Moniza Alvis poetry, how do we learn about the challenges of Essa

From Moniza Alvi's poetry, how do we learn about the challenges of living between two cultures? Moniza Alvi writes many poems based on the difficulties she faces whilst living between two cultures and I am going to explore these difficulties through the following poems: - "The Sari", "Throwing out my Fathers Dictionary", "an Unknown Girl" and "Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan." Firstly, I am going to discuss her poem "The Sari" which is a metaphorical poem telling us what happened to her in early life. The poem begins, "Inside my mother I peered through a glass porthole", which creates an image of a baby in the womb. It then continues to say, "the world beyond was hot and brown", which suggests that she was born in Pakistan. The second stanza represents her Pakistani life consisting of a father, servants and animals; "They were all looking in on me - Father, Grandmother, the cook's boy, the sweeper-girl, the bullock." This shows us the differences between the Pakistani and English culture and also what her life would have been like if she had stayed in Pakistan. The phrase "the bullock with the sharp shoulderblades" uses a repetition of soft consonants suggests a feeling of calmness at being somewhere she knows she belongs. The third stanza links her Pakistani and English roots, "My English grandmother took a telescope and gazed across continents", giving the notion that her Grandmother wishes for he upbringing to be in England. The use of the word "gazed" in particular gives an impression of great eagerness. The third stanza begins with her journey from Pakistan to England; "All the people unravelled a sari. It stretched from Lahore to Hyderabad." This suggests that the unravelling sari is showin... ...ttempts to recreate herself in their culture. As you can see, Pakistani beliefs are very different to those held by the English. Moniza Alvi's poetry is deeply influenced by her cultural influences. This is obvious because the majority of her poetry is based on the difficulties of living between two cultures. Her poetry is also influenced by fashions in writing. Her style is very modern and contrasting to pre-20th century poets, and this enhances younger reader's appreciation of the text. In conclusion, Moniza Alvi was privileged to have lived between two cultures because it meant that she was welcomed into two communities and had the opportunity to experience different ways of life. However, all good things come at a price and for this she suffered the issues of not knowing where she fit in, which values she held and having high family expectations.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Comparative Study of Personal Financial Planning Essay

It is generally seen that people have a misconception that financial planning is about saving more and spending less but that is not the case, it is more about saving the right amount so that future goals can be met. The objective of financial planning is * To ensure that the right amount of money is available in right hands at right point of time in the future to achieve the desired goals and objectives. It * Provides direction and meaning to your financial decisions. * It allows you to understand how each financial decision you make affects other areas of your finances. Financial planning and investments can be undertaken by anyone with a clear assessment of one’s inflow of funds and the goals that need to be achieved from time to time. Keywords: Financial planning, wealth management, investment instruments, real estate Introduction Financial planning is achieving your financial goals in the most efficient manner. The broad areas of financial planning include Investment plan ning  -Your wealth will only grow over time if you have invested it in assets. Investment planning  deals with the kind of investments an individual should invest in to get the best out of his wealth. In this the risk and return profiling of an individual is done based on his life stage, spending requirements with respect to his income and wealth, time horizon and liquidity requirements and various individual specific constraints. Investment Planning is important because it helps you to derive the maximum benefit from your investments. | Cash flow planning  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ In simple terms, cash flow refers to the inflow and outflow of money. It is a record of your income and expenses. Though this sounds simple, very few people actually take time out to find out what comes in and what goes out of their hands each month. Cash flow planning refers to the process of identifying the major expenditures in future (both short-term and long-term) and making planned investments so that the required amount is accumulated within the required time frame. Cash flow planning is the first thing that should be done prior to starting an investment exercise, because only then will you be in a position to know how your finances look like, and what is it that you can invest without causing a strain on yourself. It will also enable you to understand if a particular investment matches with your flow requirement| | | 3. Retirement planning  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Retirement planning means making sure you will have enough money to live on after retiring from work. Retirement should be the best period of your life, when you can literally sit back and relax or enjoy your life by reaping benefits of what you earn in so many years of hard work. But it is easier said than done. To achieve a hassle-free retired life, you need to make pruden t investment decisions during your working life, thus putting your hard-earned money to work for you in future. Planning for retirement is as important as planning your career and marriage. Life takes its own course and from the poorest to the wealthiest, no one gets spared. We get older every day, without realizing. However, we assume that old age is never going to touch us. The future depends to a great extent on the choices you make today. Right decisions with the help of proper financial planning, taken at the right time will assure smile and success at the time of retirement. Retirement Planning acquires added importance because of the fact that though longevity has increased, the number of working years haven’t.Tax planning  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Tax evasion is illegal but tax minimization is legal. Thus you can reduce your tax liability by planning effectively. With proper tax planning you can increase your after tax income. |   | 5. | Children future planning- It is essential to plan for the future of your children. The purpose of Children’s Future Planning is to create a corpus for foreseeable expenditures such as those on higher education and wedding and to provide for an adequate security cover during their growing years. Savings alone is no longer enough.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Joules law Essay

Variables and constants   The one variable in this experiment will be the load placed upon the wire, this is the obvious variable because as seen in the formula. By rearranging the formula to; e = F L A E We can see that there are 3 main factors which will effect the outcome of the experiment. The E symbolizes Young’s modulus, which will be effected by changes but is not itself a single factor as it is a measurement of the factors. In order for the experiment to be a success, it has to be a fair test. Thus of course meaning that factors that need to be kept constant must be identified and kept that way. In this scenario I will be isolating Force as my variable. Force is directly related to the load on the wire; only multiplied by the gravitational pull (approx. 9. 81) as the load is measured in Kg as it is a mass. From the equation we can see that a change in Force will indeed affect the extension of the wire, at this stage it is apparent to say that; Theoretically the larger the force the greater the extension according to the equation above, as it is the value that is being divided. Following this it is also imperative that both the Cross sectional area of the wire is indeed accurately measured, as well as remaining constant through out the experiment, as a change in this value would indeed effect the value for Tensile stress, and in turn the extension. The length of the wire must also remain consistent through out the experiment. This is because each unit of wire will stretch or elongate by a proportional amount to the load being applied to it. Thus changing the length of will increase or decrease the amount of units of wire that can be stretched, causing different readings to be measured. The wire will indeed elongate and extend no matter what the length, but for these experimental purposes it is best to be long as explained above to stand a greater chance of measuring it properly. The important thing is to set the length of wire you wish to work with and do not change it. B) Implementing Results, observations and description. Cross sectional diameter of wire Measurement number and degrees of rotation 1/mm 2/mm 3/mm Average 0 Calculation of Average wire diameter= (0. 195 + 0. 185 + 0. 1925) / 3 = 0. 1908mm Thus the average cross sectional area of the wire is Force = mass   9. 81 ms. Table of readings Final length, attempt; Mass/g Mass/Kg Force/N Orig. L/M 1/M 2/M 3/M Mean Extension/ Unfortunately errors can easily occur in this experiment, the first way of minimizing the percentage error in the experiment is to identify the sources that could cause such a problem; these being. When measuring the extension there are 3 main sources of uncertainty. Meter rul Parallax error   Zero error I plan to minimize these by* Careful choice of meter rule, as man are bent and warped   Fixing a head and eye position against something so that the parallax error is minimized as I will be looking at the ruler from exactly the same angle.   Record results from 0. 0 M If there is a zero error, take it away from the results. When measuring the weight of the mass the following sources could effect the results; Zero error on the scales   Not allowing for the weight of the cradle Simply using the weight that is imprinted on the mass instead of weighting it. I will minimize these sources by selecting my masses carefully and weighing each one separately to find its exact weight, as well as double checking a pair of scales against each other by putting the same weight on both scales to see if there is a zero error. The final measurement source of error is the measurement of the diameter of the wire. This is typically a source of inaccuracy because the wire does vary in cross sectional area, because of the way it was made. This can be accommodated for by measuring the wire extremely accurately with the micrometer, and measuring the wire in three different areas of the length and taking two readings at each of the three points along the wire, twisting it 90 degrees at each point to allow for ovals etc. The average can then be taken and used in the calculations to give a better representation of the wire being used Diagram of ideal and misshapen wire. Observations for experiment conducted on the 14th of December 2002   At approximately 0930 the equipment was set up and the working area was in suitable condition to go ahead with the experiment as planned. I had two main concerns whilst conducting the experiments, these were of measuring natures, the first of these being that, when measuring the wire with the micrometer it proved initially extremely hard to turn the wire 90 degrees, I quickly remedied this by sticking a label on the wire so that it was clear what angle the wire had to be turned.   The second was that of concerning minimization of the parallax error, this proved to be quite challenging, so we decided to look at the ruler twice each a couple of seconds apart and in what i8 thought was the same position to see if it was a fair test. This way through up different results so we deemed it necessary to have someone stand over the wire and not move until the experiment was finished to minimize this risk.   Another observation I made was that I didn’t think we were measuring the extension accurately enough I felt that measuring it to 1mm was far to inaccurate as the extension as will be seen by the graphs was minimal, I will mention this point heavily in the Evaluating.   The equipment was packed away and the experiment was completed within the hour.   I observed a changing in mass or load on the wire and no change in any of the identified variables. C Analyzing Evidence and Drawing Conclusions. Force/N Area/M Sress/Nm (Pa) Length/M Extension/M Strain Youngs modulus 1 The stress was simple to calculate as it simply meant dividing the force by the area, as so; The strain is a simple ratio it involves dividing theextension by the length; Thus the young’s modulus can be found for every plotted point separately on the graph; this is done by dividing the stress by the strain. As I predicted earlier the material obeys hookes law and froms a straight line through the origin until the elastic limit is reached. As well as we can calculate the extension from the gradient of the graph because its equal to L / EA. When a material obeys Hooke’s law, then its force, extension graph is a straight line through the origin (see graph). This is only the case up to the proportional limit. The graph being a graph of force against extension, the area is the energy stored in the wire. As the equation of the graph is F=kx, the equation of the area is . From the graph we can say that as the load increases on the wire the extension also increases proportionally, up to a certain point known as the elastic limit, this is because it is obeying kooks law as described above, and for this material whilst under low load the strain is proportional to the stress.. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Electricity and Magnetism section.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

How to Dress Professionally When Its Blazing Hot Out

How to Dress Professionally When Its Blazing Hot Out It’s summer! It took a while for those of us in colder climates to get to this point, but it’s finally  time to store the sweaters and place your cute warm weather gear at the front of your closet. So it’s 90 degrees out and you need to figure out a way to stay cool, look cute, and somehow also dress professionally- not the easiest combo to master. It is important to keep in mind that, even in this day of casual work cultures, there are still rules and norms that govern what we should and should not wear to the office. And to make matters even more confusing, on top of that, there is always a unique, often unspoken, code in every workplace. Try to figure out what yours is, but also follow these fairly safe rules of thumb to make sure your summer wardrobe doesn’t keep you from fall employment or the respect you deserve.1. Check the rule book, if there is one.Some companies actually have a rule book or employee manual- if you weren’t given one when you started, HR can give you a copy. Check this first to see whether there are any dress policies or bits of intel you can pick up about your summer outfit planning. Err on the side of caution when it comes to baring flesh.2. Follow the grandma rule.When in doubt, look at your outfit. If you would be embarrassed wearing it to meet your grandmother for lunch, then it’s probably not right for the office. This is particularly true for women, who will be judged more often when they bare any skin at all. Dress for your own version of success, not others, but do keep in mind the double standards and injustices of perception out there and make sure to keep yourself†¦ covered, metaphorically speaking (and sometimes actually).3. Err on the side of â€Å"not short.†If there’s a question in your mind as to whether shorts (or short skirts) are appropriate for your workplace, that probably means you haven’t seen anyone in such attire at the office. Take that as a sign and leave your barest-leg ensembles for the weekends. Instead, to stay cool, aim for a skirt that at least hits the knee: summery and smart! (The same rules apply to crop tops: save them for the weekend.)4. Keep the shoes classy.No, you can’t wear flip flops to the office. Yes, you can wear sandals, just try to minimize the amount of bare foot you show on any given day. It’s probably best to avoid shoes with open backs, though if you must, choose slides instead of flops.5. Summer denim is probably too casual.Jeans are one thing, especially if your office tends casual. Times have changed, and a nice dark jean is usually fine. But summer denim is another story: if you give way to the jean section of your closet, you’ll be tempted to wear jorts and jumpers and shorts. Don’t. You can probably get away with a denim shift dress, but any other short denim should stay at home.If you overheat, try lots of lighter fabrics and brighter, breezier colors. If you then get too cold because of overzealous air conditioning, make sure to bring a light sweater to keep yourself warm. And the upside of not baring too much skin, particularly on your legs, is that you won’t need to worry about working through the inevitable goosebumps.Dress smart, and have a great working summer!

Monday, October 21, 2019

The Roots of Judaism and Christianity

The Roots of Judaism and Christianity The Roots of Judaism and ChristianityJews and Christians have the same roots but have developed very differently throughout time. The basis of these two religions shares some similarities, but also differences. They both stem from different places and over time have developed on their own to have their own identity.The Jews are a people who trace their descent from the biblical Israelites and who are united by the religion called Judaism. They are not a race; Jewish identity is a mixture of ethnic, national, and religious elements. An individual may become part of the Jewish people by conversion to Judaism; but a born Jew who rejects Judaism or adopts another religion does not entirely lose his Jewish identity. In biblical times the Jews were divided into 12 tribes: Reuben, Simeon (Levi), Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim, and Manasseh.The word Jew is derived from the kingdom of Judah, which included the tribes of Benjamin and Judah.Mosaic of the 12 Tribes of Israel. From Givat Mord...The name Israel referred to the people as a whole and to the northern kingdom of 10 tribes. Today it is used as a collective name for all Jewry and since 1948 for the Jewish state. (Citizens of the state of Israel are called Israelis; not all of them are Jews.) In the Bible, Hebrew is used by foreign peoples as a name for the Israelites; today it is applied only to the hebrew language.The origin of the Jews is recounted in the Hebrew Bible. Despite legendary and miraculous elements in its early narratives, most scholars believe that the biblical account is based on historic realities. According to the Book of Genesis, God ordered the patriarch Abraham to leave his home in Mesopotamia and travel to a new land, which he promised to Abraham's descendants as a...

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Biz Ethics Essay Research Paper Business Ethics

Biz Ethics Essay, Research Paper : Business Ethical motives at Work Writer: Elizabeth Vallance Publisher: Cambridge University Press Date Published: January 1990 This book is a practical usher to a topic straight relevant to modern-day behavior for pupils of concern and management.It offers a determination theoretical account to assist in the devising of ethical picks, and bases its ethical model steadfastly on the nature of concern itself. Title: Current Issues in Business Ethical motives Writer: Peter W. Davies Publisher: Routledge Date Published: September 1997 In this aggregation of essays, current issues in concern moralss are explored and discussed by taking governments in the field. Title: Defining Moments: When Directors Must Choose between Right and Right Writer: Joseph L. Badaracco Publisher: Harvard Business School Publishing Date Published: August 1997 Explores the inquiry of whether one can regulate innocently in a concern universe where personal moralss may interfere with the demands of the organisation. The writer draws on three director instance surveies, literature, and moral philosophers such as Machiavelli, Nietzsche, and Marcus Aurelius to discourse ways in which directors can believe about ethical quandary in their work life. : Business Ethical motives at Work Writer: Elizabeth Vallance Publisher: Cambridge University Press Date Published: January 1990 This book is a practical usher to a topic straight relevant to modern-day behavior for pupils of concern and management.It offers a determination theoretical account to assist in the devising of ethical picks, and bases its ethical model steadfastly on the nature of concern itself. Title: Current Issues in Business Ethical motives Writer: Peter W. Davies Publisher: Routledge Date Published: September 1997 In this aggregation of essays, current issues in concern moralss are explored and discussed by taking governments in the field. Title: Defining Moments: When Directors Must Choose between Right and Right Writer: Joseph L. Badaracco Publisher: Harvard Business School Publishing Date Published: August 1997 Explores the inquiry of whether one can regulate innocently in a concern universe where personal moralss may interfere with the demands of the organisation. The writer draws on three director instance surveies, literature, and moral philosophers such as Machiavelli, Nietzsche, and Marcus Aurelius to discourse ways in which directors can believe about ethical quandary in their work life.

Friday, October 18, 2019

IT - Forensic Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

IT - Forensic Technology - Essay Example Generally, each crime scene brings its own unique set of questions requiring answers to unveil the truth as the circumstances of each investigation differ considerably. The questions may include but not limited to the way crime was conducted, identities of victims, timeframe of crime and presence of any other material that may assist investigations (Oxenham, 2008). Ian (2010) is of the view that even these techniques are mainly borrowed from other sciences, forensic science has itself developed and matured over the years. Numerous scientific techniques have been developed and refined to support preservation, analysis and interpretation of evidence for forensic purposes. Forensic science cannot be isolated since advancements in other fields of science have been integrated to forensic technology over the years. 2. History of Forensic Science Forensic scientists employ scientific methods and techniques to obtain the evidence from dandruff to DNA and from ammunition to infrared spectroph otometry (Tilstone, Savage & Clark, 2006). Ancient world lacked sophisticated and standardized methods in forensics to analyze and interpret the evidence, but still many accounts in the forensic analysis have been found in ancient history like Archimedes’ analysis for volume of crown in water. In 16th century, European medical practitioners tried analyze cause of death. Similarly, Swedish scientists developed methods for detection of arsenic in 17th century. Juan Vucetich in Argentina solved first criminal case on forensic basis by analyzing the bloody finger prints on a door. First school of forensic was established in 1909 by Rodolphe Archibald Reiss at University of Lausanne. The inquisitiveness to answer questions that have gripped the entire human history including the criminal justice system on scientific basis is over a century old. The courts made opinions of experts admissible inform of fingerprints in and postmortem where these were earlier left to discretion of jur y. With the tremendous advancements in science and technology, different specialized fields and areas of expertise emerged. The witness and evidence supported on scientific analysis has now become a routine in helping jury to find guilty. United States became the main center for development of forensic science from 1930 to 1980. According to Bell, Fisher and Shaler (2008), still at start of twentieth-first century, US holds majors advancements in the field when investigators and scientists are using methods and techniques not thought of a generation before. 3. Classification of Forensics For investigative purposes, forensic science can be viewed as a combination of distinct areas including (Purdue university forensic science, 2012): Forensic Anthropology. Application of physical anthropology in legal scenario. Cyber Forensic. Use and analysis of digital data that is admissible in court of law. Forensic Engineering. Investigation into material and structure of components that fail pr ior to completion of expected duration resulting in accidents. Forensic Entomology. It involves use of insects and anthropodology to study the decomposed materials and bodies to help in investigations. Foensic Odontology. It is the study to human teeth to establish information

Lessons Learned of the Vietnam War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lessons Learned of the Vietnam War - Essay Example The Vietnam War serves as one of the most dominant and influential international conflicts appeared after the Second Great War (Mahajan, 2003) on the horizons of the world, encompassing the Far East in its fold, and leaving an indelible impact of its horrible consequences in the entire region as well as on the rest of the world at large. Started during the climax of Cold War (Arora 2002) between the then two strategic Super Powers i.e. the USSR and USA, the war lasted for twenty long years from 1955 to 1975, and ended in the heavy losses of men and material of the invaded Vietnam as well as the complete humiliation and degradation of the invader USA eventually. Although, the American administration and forces applied every possible strategy and even military brutality on the country, particularly the Mai Lai catastrophic massacre (Fallows 2009) , yet the defensive state, along with its forces and masses belonging to this small Far East state of Vietnam, did not surrender one single i nch of their territorial boundaries; at last their exemplary fortitude, unflinching will-power and unabated determination forced the US military might to surrender and hence paved the way for the cessation and exit of the American troops from their country at last. The Lessons America Learnt:The analysts, since the aftermath of the Vietnam War onward, remained engaged in making investigations of the causes behind the failure of the US mission in a country, which apparently looked a very easy target, though turned out to be a hard nut to crack; even its population, economic position and military force was far lesser in comparison with the American might. Consequently, discovering the chronicles of events that turned the US invasion over Vietnam as nightmare for her had turned to be a moot point to be discussed at every forum for the future years to come. One of the most fatal mistakes committed by the invading country was sending a huge army of almost 3 million US men and women thous ands of miles away from their fatherland in order to fight a foreign soil just for stopping the advancement of communism from entering the northern part of Vietnam (Anghie 2007).5 Actually the US foreign strategy remained revolving around creating certain impediments on the way to the advancements of Communist Russia; in order to keep an overwhelming majority of the world sovereign-states under the US influence and economic subjugation as well.6 Consequently, protection of her economic system capitalism served to be the most vital issue for the Americans, for the security of which the US leadership dragged the military personnel into a certain inferno, which cost the lives of over 2.5 million people on both the warring sides eventually (Kalyvas & Kocher 2003). Hence, the Americans fought a fruitless war hundreds of miles away from their home in order to tame a small Asian state by wasting a huge amount of dollars for a useless pursuit. It is therefore the USA has assured the least c hances of the occurrence of deaths

Answer the Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Answer the Questions - Assignment Example In section 5, he suggests the date of the elections to be the same time as in 2003 (Taras & Waddell, 55). In addition, in 6, there is an introduction for the additional thoughts. In section 7, he gives hope to other Canadians who have cancer. In section 8, he thanks the members of his party for the support they accorded him and encouraged them not to be dissuaded by others. In 9, he talks of the fulfillment of national goals among other issues (Taras & Waddell, 59). In addition, in section 10, he thanks the members of the political class in parliament. He encourages them and acknowledges their working together. In 11, he thanks, Quebecers for making right decisions during elections. In 12, he encourages the young people and tells them to be always determined. In section 13, it is to all Canadians. He encourages them and tells them to make their decisions and not be swayed by anyone. In 14, he tells his friends to be loving and optimistic for them to change the world. Section 15 is the conclusion and with his name (Turk & Wahl, 80). The order of the topics and sections is in such a way that the previous topic leads to the next. In paragraph 2, parallel structure occurs when there is repletion of the word â€Å"my† in â€Å"my home†, â€Å"my spirit† and â€Å"my determination†. Climactic order has been achieved when arranging the words â€Å"notes†, â€Å"cards† and â€Å"gifts†. Parallel structure helps to achieve rhythm in the letter. In paragraph 7, an example of metaphor is â€Å"My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer†. An example of personification is, â€Å"To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The example of parallel structure is, â€Å"You have every reason to be optimistic, determined and focused†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Parallel structure also helps to achieve rhythm in the letter (Turk & Wahl,

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Differentiation of Microorganisms Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Differentiation of Microorganisms - Lab Report Example The researcher tells that in culture media experiment the test included a synthetic medium, tryptic soy broth, SF broth, Macconkey Agar, and nutrient agar. The liquid media like the nutrient broth was used in the reproduction and isolation of organisms. McConkey Agar was a solid medium that examined colony morphology and the isolation of the organisms. Most of the culture media were complex; their chemical composition was unknown. Additionally, the culture media were selective. They selected certain microbe types by supplying the growth conditions. An example of this media was SF medium; it was designed to select Enterococcus faecallis in warm-blooded animals. In Enzymes experiment, the tests included the Caseinase which hydrolyzed casein to peptides to amino acids, gelatinase hydrolyzed gelatin, and   Catalase protected the cells from the hydrogen peroxide. In addition, Oxidase indicated the presence of cytochrome in the microorganisms, during oxidation the compounds turned red or blue. In fermentation experiment, the fermentable compounds were sugar (glucose, sucrose, and lactose). Consequently, an indicator dye was used to change the color from red to a yellow color when the PH is below 7. In motility, experiment flagellum was used a bacterial motility. The experiment used several ways to determine motility i.e. hanging drop and motility agar. In the course of the experiment, if the culture tested is strict aerobe, then growth will occur on the tube surface. The hanging drop slide was used in motility viewing when the oxygen is depleted. In the experiment that dealt with differentiation of enteric bacteria, most bacteria used were facultative anaerobes and anaerobes. The enteric bacteria used here encompassed facultative anaerobic rods, gram negative, and non-spore forming bacteria. The Coliforms were characterized by their fermenting ability. Other tests that were used to identify the enteric bacteria included H2S, KCN, MB agar, TSI agar, SS agar, and MacConkey agar. Discussion The culture media experiment used the following microorganism: Escherichis Coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The two culture media in the experiment were synthetic medium and tryptic Soy Broth. The

International Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

International Marketing - Assignment Example Communicating in the local language helps customers to receive the products and services positively. Doing business internationally involves changing the promotional or branding materials to suit their values and attitude. Analysis of the values and attitudes secures a comfortable working environment (Cateora, Gilly and Graham 398). Employees in the United States take weekly vacations while France employees take monthly vacations. Understanding this concept of culture is vital for international marketers considering various multinationals have had problems in the past. For instance, China banned commercials by Nike televisions for animating the kung fu master since it insulted the Chinese national dignity (Cateora, Gilly and Graham 389). The technology level available in the country of business aids the international marketers in handling promotions. It involves the analysis of transport and infrastructure of the location of interest (Cateora, Gilly and Graham 390). Education varies across cultural backgrounds thus; marketing internationally requires a synopsis of the educational background of their target market. In conclusion, analyzing the background aids the multinationals to have favorable response from their target market. I agree with you on the importance of culture in the marketing environment. It is important for marketers to treat their customers with dignity. Asian cultures value their cultural concepts and the example of McDonalds in Japan shows this. It is true that the general population of a country constitutes to the cultural background, but analyzing the regional cultures is also important in international marketing. The factors you mentioned such as political, economical, and technological apply in securing different countries. The value of these concepts dictates the penetration pace of multinationals. Stability in international marketing works better if the

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Answer the Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Answer the Questions - Assignment Example In section 5, he suggests the date of the elections to be the same time as in 2003 (Taras & Waddell, 55). In addition, in 6, there is an introduction for the additional thoughts. In section 7, he gives hope to other Canadians who have cancer. In section 8, he thanks the members of his party for the support they accorded him and encouraged them not to be dissuaded by others. In 9, he talks of the fulfillment of national goals among other issues (Taras & Waddell, 59). In addition, in section 10, he thanks the members of the political class in parliament. He encourages them and acknowledges their working together. In 11, he thanks, Quebecers for making right decisions during elections. In 12, he encourages the young people and tells them to be always determined. In section 13, it is to all Canadians. He encourages them and tells them to make their decisions and not be swayed by anyone. In 14, he tells his friends to be loving and optimistic for them to change the world. Section 15 is the conclusion and with his name (Turk & Wahl, 80). The order of the topics and sections is in such a way that the previous topic leads to the next. In paragraph 2, parallel structure occurs when there is repletion of the word â€Å"my† in â€Å"my home†, â€Å"my spirit† and â€Å"my determination†. Climactic order has been achieved when arranging the words â€Å"notes†, â€Å"cards† and â€Å"gifts†. Parallel structure helps to achieve rhythm in the letter. In paragraph 7, an example of metaphor is â€Å"My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer†. An example of personification is, â€Å"To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The example of parallel structure is, â€Å"You have every reason to be optimistic, determined and focused†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Parallel structure also helps to achieve rhythm in the letter (Turk & Wahl,

International Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

International Marketing - Assignment Example Communicating in the local language helps customers to receive the products and services positively. Doing business internationally involves changing the promotional or branding materials to suit their values and attitude. Analysis of the values and attitudes secures a comfortable working environment (Cateora, Gilly and Graham 398). Employees in the United States take weekly vacations while France employees take monthly vacations. Understanding this concept of culture is vital for international marketers considering various multinationals have had problems in the past. For instance, China banned commercials by Nike televisions for animating the kung fu master since it insulted the Chinese national dignity (Cateora, Gilly and Graham 389). The technology level available in the country of business aids the international marketers in handling promotions. It involves the analysis of transport and infrastructure of the location of interest (Cateora, Gilly and Graham 390). Education varies across cultural backgrounds thus; marketing internationally requires a synopsis of the educational background of their target market. In conclusion, analyzing the background aids the multinationals to have favorable response from their target market. I agree with you on the importance of culture in the marketing environment. It is important for marketers to treat their customers with dignity. Asian cultures value their cultural concepts and the example of McDonalds in Japan shows this. It is true that the general population of a country constitutes to the cultural background, but analyzing the regional cultures is also important in international marketing. The factors you mentioned such as political, economical, and technological apply in securing different countries. The value of these concepts dictates the penetration pace of multinationals. Stability in international marketing works better if the

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

To teach children Essay Example for Free

To teach children Essay The lesson plans on Comparing poems and patterns tested the students’ abilities to distinguish similarities and differences. Asking the students about details on the story helps them comprehend the story well. The Venn diagram visually segregates the commonalities and the differences. The lesson plan on patterns also made them aware of colors and shapes and sizes which is good for all members of the family. Many children enter first grade with the expectation that they are going to learn to read. They have enjoyed a variety of experiences that have made them aware of the fact that spoken language can be represented by written forms. Not including the children who are among the 1 to 2 percent who can read primary-level materials when they enter first grade, in the first grade that I am handling, there are several children who can identify familiar brand names they have seen advertised on television and in the supermarket, recognize road signs, and read their own and possibly some of their friends’ names. From having looked on and asked what a word was as someone read to them they have learned to recognize the written forms for a few familiar words. The might also know, from having followed along as parents or teachers read to them, that one reads a line from left to right and proceeds from the end of one line to the beginning of the next line. Other children might not have enjoyed similar experiences, although they may be just as eager to learn to read. For these as well as the other children, an environment that stimulates a curiosity about and interest in reading will provide the setting and a reason for learning to read. What can a teacher do to make the classroom a laboratory for beginning reading? Here are some suggestions from my own experience: Fill bookshelves with colorful picturebooks and storybooks. These are books which children can look at themselves or which will be read to them. Place some books on a table to attract the children’s attention. Some might be open to encourage handling and examination. Chairs should be placed nearby for anyone who wishes to look at the books. Attach children’s name tags, written in manuscript, to the front of each one’s place at a table or desk. The same might be done to identify the children’s storage bins and clothes hangers. Attach signs, in manuscripts, to objects or stations in the rooms – For example, the words—window, door, supplies, pencils, crayons, etc. One of the purposes for having these captions, signs and labels in the classroom is to help the children become word conscious. Another is to convey the idea that written words may be used like spoken ones. A third purpose is to provide Here is an example of a lesson plan aimed at teaching children how to begin reading. LESSON PLAN AIM: To teach children how to begin reading MOTIVATION: How children respond to different kinds of experiences provides a good indication of what they are likely to do when they are exposed to more formal reading activities. LINK TO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE: The synthetic approach—the study of separate sounds with their associated written forms followed by the blending of known sounds into words—is not preferred. Two other systems, treated separate or blended into a favorable mix, some closer to meeting children’s learning requirements; these are the language-experience approach to reading and the basal reading program. Each program is characterized by its own set of distinctive features, although variations in the ways they are developed are common.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Management and Leadership Styles in Nursing Team Leaders

Management and Leadership Styles in Nursing Team Leaders This assignment will focus on the different management and leadership styles and the benefits and shortfalls will be discussed. Definition of the management and leadership styles will be included along with a brief discussion on trait theories This will be achieved by studying a working nurse team and concentrating on the nurse in charge and how she delegates, leads and organises the team. Firstly, this assignment will look at the different management and leadership styles followed by the analyst on how the nurse in charged relates these management and leadership styles in practice whilst managing a multi- disciplinary team within a hospital ward setting along with a conclusion of what I have learnt observing leadership style and how I was influenced from this form of leadership and how it may effect me in my future practice as qualified nurse According to Marquis Hudson (2000) leadership is a process of persuading and influencing others towards a goal as is composed of a wide variety of roles. .However Bowles And Bowles(2000) Define leadership as an interpersonal relationship of influence the product of personal characteristics rather than mere occupation of managerial positions. it is these personal characteristics which attract enthuse and motivate followers toward organizational goals. Each nurse has their own styles and leadership, their style depends on their values, traits. Characteristic, along with experience it is these individuals that changes began to come about. Trait theory of leadership is based on the assumption that people inherited specificate characteristics traits abilities and skills that make more suitable leaders than others Trait approach tries to identify traits and characteristics to distinguish leaders from followers Marquires and Huston (2006) suggested the great man theory is that people are born to lead and others are born to be led. Doyle and smith (2001) argues that Gandhi along with Napoleon inheritated the great man trait and highlight that they took control when needed .As suggested the term great man and not great woman ,This happened as in those times leadership was considered to be a males job only .Since trait theory was not enough to identify leaders from non leaders new theories of leadership began to appear such as are leaders developed through education and special training along with being learnt from observation and teaching creating the behaviour trait . A nurse leader must have a variety of leadership styles depending on the situation. Leaders are sought after for their expertise in their respective specialties and staff nurses look up to these individuals for guidance. Management is defined as a process about an improvement in knowledge skills, habits and attitudes of the employee in an organisation (sing 2008) Historically management has been given a greater importance in healthcare settings (marquis Huston 2006).However (McCallin2003) states The role of management in the time of Florence Nightingale was authoritarian and focused on rules, hierarchy and systems of punishment or reward to motivate workers. The characteristics of historic management would endeavour autocratic leaders. This type of management may of being accepting in the 19th century but today it no longer reflects the needs or values of the nursing profession Modern health care settings are complex and requires the registered nurse to have the ability to perform a multitude of roles and responsibility requires highly developed skills in decision making ,critical thinking along with the adherence to professional ,moral and legal standards .In addition to these skills leadership and management are considered essential for professional practice all are included in the Nursing Midwifery Council(2008) standards and are required for competent practice .the ability of register nurses to be effective leaders will impact on staff ,resources and setting and achievement of goals .this will in turn have implications for the quality of care Drucker (1999) cited in Weick and Evans(2003) stated todayà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s nurses are graduates who have been described as knowledge workers who want to be led not managed . The word management and leadership are often interchangeable this is based on that they use similar skills bowman1997 and greenwood 1997 effective leadership is critical in any organisation and the key to effective is having the staff focused and working towards achieving the desired goal Convey (2006) argues the view that management is about doing things right and leadership is about doing the right thing student hand book Leaders and managers are not the same though they act in similar ways. A manager is responsible for setting objectives and using resources efficiently. A leader is responsible for motivating a group of people (team) to use their individual skills; therefore leadership is a vital skill of any successful manager There are several different leadership styles Three will be chosen and the advantage and disadvantages will be discussed. Bureaucratic leadership- bureaucratic leaders work by the book and ensures they follow protocols and procedures in accordance to how they are set bureaucratic leaders, expect team members to adhere to the protocols and procedures and follow he rules perfectly . ,this form of leadership can demoralise staff as well as put up barriers when needing to use their own initiative in addition place restraints on any changes that are needed. In acute workplaces where procedures save lives, a bureaucratic management style can help enforce health and safety rules. Autocratic leadership- Autocratic leaders sets objectives and allocates tasks and demands obedience they make as many decisions as possible and seek to have authority and control in decision making .Autocratic leaders tend to respond quickly and effectively and give the task a direction .However research claims that autocratic leaders can be disliked creating lack of faith and trust along with demotivated staff leading to stress within the relationship with work colleagues Marquis and Huston (2006) Democratic leadership à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬democrat leaders encouraged participation in the decision making by consulting team members ,delegating where possible and explaining their decisions along with sharing the responsibility Adaire(2002) Democratic leaders tend to have a good rapour with their team as work colleagues will tell a democratic leader when something has gone wrong. While employees simply hide it from an autocrat .democratic leadership is effective in professional organisations where the emphasis on training, professional and leadership development needs to be optimistic.(tomey 2004) Laizzez-Faire leadership à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Laizzez faire leaders are ones that leaves the employee to get on with their work with little or no interference, By giving the employee freedom it gives them the opportunity to show responsibility and initiative Marquris and Huston (2006)suggest that laizzez-faire leaders only motivate others when requested to do so .This form of leading can be effective if the leader monitors what is being achieved and communicates it back to the team regularly .regrettably ,it can also refer to situations where leaders are not exerting sufficient control I have chosen a nurse that through her compassion and leadership style as inspired me throughout my transition from a healthcare assistant to a student nurse .For the purpose of the confidentiality of this nurse she will be identified as C.B C.B has being a registered nurse for 9 years working in a busy public hospital in many departments including orthopaedic and surgical wards and now currently is a band 6 in the Accident and Emergency Department (A/E) She has decided to advance her knowledge and has undertaken many course .This has enabled her to increase her knowledge to enable her to gain confidence in her leadership role, as a band 6 in the A/E department I was fortunate not only to know C.B as a work colleague but to have the honour to have her as my mentor whilst I was a student in the A/E department. In the A/E department one member of the nursing team is chosen by the ward manager to become co-ordinator .The role involves delegating teams , communicating jobs needed to done, organising bed state in accordance to admission and discharges performing ward round an organisation of staff such as break times .The event being analysed will be communicating jobs from the ward round to different team members and how the coordinator deals with them .Research evidence suggests that an effective manager should have a detailed knowledge of all patient in his/her care and one way to achieve this is by hands on nursing(Douglas;1992, Lles 1997) Prioritizing becomes part of a nurses routine in every day practice (Waterworth 2003 ). Using her management skill of decision making C.B looked at the skill mix of the staff to be able to decide how nursing skills are best used (Humphreys 1996). This can be done by using your clinical judgement of the staff and by looking at the grades of the staff available. McElroy et al (1996) agrees with the using clinical judgement to ensure you make the best use of a nurseà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s time. It should be recognised that skill mix research is vague. There is research on this area but it mainly looks at grade mix rather than skill mix (Spilsbury and Meyer 2005). One could question skill is more than just a grade, as the grade of the person does not always reflect the experience of the person. C.B had to break the tasks down. Ensuring she makes sufficient use of the skill mix available to ensure that adequate staff fulfils the tasks to ensure the quality of patient care give n is of the highest standard. From a management point this is a very important decision to make as it means that you can try to get the best out of your staff and that it is a way of ensuring all your tasks get complete and the management of clinical risk is not affected (Smith and Valentine 1999). This was achieved by using delegation skills. Delegation is the process from which responsibility for performing a task is transferred to another person who accepts responsibility for the task. Although Delegation is the process from which responsibility for performing a task is transferred to another person who accepts responsibility for the task. But although you have asked someone else to do the task overall the person delegating the task is still actually accountable (Sullivan and Decker 2005) NMC 2008 Delegation is an important management process and allow organization and leadership to function through others .Ellis and Hartley (2004) . Delegating a task to others have been found to be challenging for some nurses Hansen and Washburn (1996) As C.B has being allocated to be shift coordinator she needed to participate in regular ward round that occurred within the A/E department in addition to have control of any emergency situation that was happening within the A/E . During the ward round the C.B as the co-ordinator employs a bureaucratic approach as she is with the consultant and junior doctors In this situation she must ensure that everything is done correctly both by herself as well as the consultant and junior doctors After completion of the ward round C.B handed over to the relevant nurses the information that had been discussed during the ward round .There has been a lot of research on handovers which have looked at the contents Hesse (1983) Liukkonen (1993) and McMahon (1990), duration Matthews (1986), Sherlock (1995) Thurgood (1995). This literature all conclude that handovers. influences the delivery of care efficient handovers mean better patient care. Meisser et al (2007) suggested that leadership may be the one quality needed to improve handover Research conducted by Sexton et al (2004) argues that not all the relevant information is discussed during handover, preventing the delivery of care. Yet again C.B delegates ,jobs that have be ing requested on the ward round .in this situation she employs the transactional form of leadership style as she needs to ensure that all the correct information has been passed on and that the nurses looking after the appropriate team get the jobs done effectively and efficiently .This means the staff of the delegated teams agree to do the job request and do not changed any aspect of the job required .After delegating the new jobs to her staff the C.B than adopts a laissez-faire approach and allows the nurses to get on with their own jobs .However ,communication was still essential in the laissez-faire approach and the C.B regularly calls staff into an area to handover and update herself on the jobs being done ensuring the original job that was requested to herself on the ward round was being carried out. By means of discussing the handover with the delegated nurse C.B allowed them to put themselves forward for the patient Involving her work colleagues allow them to be involved in patient care this form of delegation can be highlighted from a democratic leader An emergency call came through to the A/E and C.B responsibility was to ensure the correct emergency team would be present for when the patient arrived C.B was in control due to her knowledge and was able to identify follow out this task as a leader of this emergency call C.B made decisions for the group .This type of leadership is autocratic and is appropriate when a dealing in emergency situations Research by Greenwood (1997 ) has found that leaders should adopt the style in which they find most comfortable to be an effective leader. Leadership styles vary according to various situations. One leadership style may be ineffective where another one is extremely successful. we are now able to see that leaders vary according to situations and their traits. Leaders are able to express themselves fully Bennis.(1998) they also know what they want and why they want it and how to communicate what they want in order to gain cooperation and support achieving goals to be met Bennis (1998) states leaders can find way to make a difference All nurse are in a position to become change agent but most importantly nurse leaders have the greatest influence on changed. The nurse act as the change agent when assisting patients in changing or altered behaviour .kozier et al (2000) states nurse often act to make changes in the system ,such as clinical care along with helping patient return back to good health. According to Marquis and Huston (2000) what distinguishes a successful changed agent is a person skilled in theory and implementation of planned changed to deal appropriately with these changes and connect all organisations that will be effected by the changed. This is achieved by means of good leadership and management skills

Sunday, October 13, 2019

High and Popular Islam Essay -- Islam History Religion

History of the Middle East and North Africa 600-1258 Unlike India that has a clearly defined caste system to divide classes, other nations have classes that are implied by economic and social differences. The Middle East after the rise of Islam had an implied class system as well, referred to as High Islam and Popular or Low Islam. There is no actual High and Popular Islam that people are officially divided into, but is perceived through historical analysis. They are concepts derived from historical findings that provide a way to compare and contrast the people, religion, and government of Islam. (Frierson) Hopefully this essay will shed some light on these concepts. â€Å"Allah is the Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light.† (Cow 2:257) Jesus Christ would never have expected animated DVD’s, Santa upstaging neither his ‘birthday’, nor the endless sects of Christians all claiming to truly understand his message and scripture. (Unless of course one is Christian and believes he is god and therefore knows all) Whether Muhammad foresaw the possibility of the Muslim community headed for similar disregard of the sacred is debatable. However, the fact that the sin of idolatry was so feared by Muslims has proven substantial power to suppress the same abandonment of the sacred that Christianity has modernized to. Despite the lack of Muhammad dolls and Allah t-shirts, the religion of Islam evolved into a government, empire, and ultimately a vague ideal of holiness interpreted thousands of ways. Having a faceless, mysterious deity not only prevented commercialism of a religion, but served to allow any culture to adopt their unique vision of God. When Muhammad first formed the small... ... English translation of The Koran. London: Penguin Classics, 2006. Specific Sura The Cow (Referred to as Cow) Frierson, Elizabeth. In-class lectures, PowerPoint’s, and Portfolio Guidelines University of Cincinnati Course Number 15-HIST-170-001, 20 September- October 2010. (Referred to as Frierson) Haug, Dr. In-class lectures and PowerPoint’s, University of Cincinnati Course Number 15-HIST-170-001, 20 September- October 2010. (Referred to as Haug) Lewis, Bernard. Islam: from the Prophet Muhammad to the Capture of Constantinople, Volume 1. Oxford University Press, 1987. (Referred to as Lewis 1) Lewis, Bernard. Islam: from the Prophet Muhammad to the Capture of Constantinople, Volume 2. Oxford University Press, 1987. (Referred to as Lewis 2) Ochsenwald, William and Sidney Fisher. The Middle East: A History. McGraw-Hill, 2004. (Referred to as F&O)

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Essays -- Evaluation Methods

Introduction This essay aims to cover two main focus points. The first section of this essay will take an in depth look at the major differences between two research methods – Qualitative and Quantitative. I will explore when and why they are used for specific types of research and how they apply to some types of work more effectively. The second area for this essay will be based around the research question- what factors contribute to you feeling anxious during sport or exercise? I will then go on to show that the best method to use to analyse this will be by using qualitative research, and then how it can be applied to it to extract all relevant information from it. Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods The qualitative and quantitative research methods are divided by many fundamental differences. You could suggest that these two research methods represent the two different ends of a linear spectrum. Qualitative research looks to deal with the in depth, word based side of research whereas on the other end of the spectrum quantitative research works predominantly with number based research and statistics. Birley and Moreland (1998) support this by saying that â€Å"the two methodologies reflect various paradigms and that the theoretical model that each method uses to conduct the research come from different areas†. Qualitative research involves the consideration of emotions and thought processes concerning certain situations, whilst quantitative data collection sets about using statistics and numbers to determine the results (Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, & Health Professions). In addition, qualitative research gives a more detailed view of a situation compared to quantitative, which only collects discrete d... ... European Journal of Sport Science. 8 (3), p143. Holt, N.L and Mandigo, J.L. (2004). Coping with performance worries among youth male cricket players. Journal of sport behaviour. 27 (1) p39-57 Kerr, J and Grange, P. (2010). Physical aggression in Australian football: A qualitative study of elite athletes. Psychology of Sport & Exercise. P11 Open Coding (No date). Available from http://www.researchproposalsforhealthprofessionals.com/open_coding.htm(06/03/12) Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. ‘quantitative analysis’ 2009, in Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, & Health Professions, Elsevier Health Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, USA Silverman, D: (2006) What is qualitative research?. Interpreting qualitative data: methods for analyzing talk, text and interaction. 3rd ed., London: Sage. p.48

Friday, October 11, 2019

Self Confidence

Self confidence is the ability to posses the absolute sureness of feeling that you are equal to the task at hand. If one is self-confident, that trait shines through the person in everything they do, say, what they wear and how they look. People who have this desirable trait draw others around them in by their untouchable confidence. A confident person can easily combat the hurdles of life and can also influence others by their positive attitude and impressive personality. A confident person believes in themselves, does what they feel is right and is never afraid of failure. Self-confidence is extremely important in almost every aspect of our lives. The reason self confidence is so important is because out of confidence comes success. Proof of this is found in many instances. For example, it is proven that students who begin a test with confidence in themselves that they will achieve a desired goal have a better chance of doing-so opposed to those who begin a test with uncertainty. Another example is in the working world. It is very unlikely for an insecure, unconfident person to be a CEO of a flourishing company. When hiring an employee for an important position, an employer looks for certain qualities and self confidence is one major one. Self confidence is a disease. Friends, family, and all people other people in touch with a person displaying confidence are likely to generate similar self confident feelings. A confident person attracts friendships, but commands respect, too. 69% of women said that men possessing self confidence were 2 times more attractive than those lacking it. ‘I believe that a self-confident man is aware of his imperfections but doesn't allow them to hinder him from being the best person that he can be.’ Alison Austin of Dayton, OH. For a psychology project, two high school boys decided to test out the correlation between self confidence and attraction. They planned for their experiment to take place at a school dance. They two boys of the same social status enter a dance circle. One danced uncomfortably and the other danced with self confidence. As they predicted, the boy who danced self-consciously gained little attention from the opposite sex. On the contrary, the other boy drew attention from several girls and even influenced some of the guys to dance less timidly. This is another form of proof one person with self confidence can send vibes from person to another. Everyone longs to be appreciated and well-liked by their peers. By having a self confident personality, it is easy for others to see your true self break through the surface. Although most self confident people are unaware of the effects of their confidence on their surroundings, self confidence forms the basis of everything in the world. Without confidence sports stars, celebrities, government officials, and other people of high stature would never be where there are at today. Do you think Michael Phelps would have broken records and acquired seven gold medals if he lacked the confidence in his own ability? Do you think President Obama would have been able to represent our country if he believed the critics and stopped speaking out? Do you think Lil’ Wayne would have pursued his career if he listened to the people who told him he had no talent? The answer is no. Without confidence, you are nothing.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Prefrontal Cortex Vs Criminal Behavior

This very broad overview of prefrontal cortex function allows us to appreciate circumstances in which prefrontal cortex function is compromised in a human. Humans comprise a special case when considering this brain region. Despite evidence that the prefrontal cortex in rodents and non-human primates regulates cognition and behavior in ways quite similar to that of the human, we are the most ‘frontal’ of species, insofar as the frontal cortex is its largest, in both absolute and relative terms, in the human.The first realm to consider where prefrontal cortex function is compromised in humans is, quite reasonably, during development. Children show only minimal frontal function, from the standpoints of cognition (for example, in reversal tasks), emotional regulation, control of impulsive behavior and moral reasoning. One of the myths of child development is that the brain is fully developed at some remarkably early age. Instead, brain development is far more prolonged and, not surprisingly, the prefrontal cortex is the last region of the brain to fully myelinate. Remarkably, this process extends well beyond adolescence into early adulthood. Various transient states can compromise prefrontal cortex function.Alcohol is long recognized for its capacity to impair reasoning and impulse control, and surprisingly small quantities of alcohol impair the capacity of the prefrontal cortex to detect errors of commission or omission, as assessed electro-physiologically.Another example concerns stress. Most individuals have experienced severe and/orprolonged stress as disrupting attention, judgment and other purviews of the prefrontal cortex, and this has been shown more formally in both humans and animals;In making sense of this, it should be appreciated that the prefrontal cortex contains some of the highest levels of receptors in the primate brain for stress hormones. Moreover, stress or stress hormones will dramatically alter the turnover of several classes of neurotransmitters in the prefrontal cortex.Prefrontal cortex function is also compromised in another circumstance experienced by all individuals. With the onset of sleep and the transition to deep, slow wave sleep, there is a characteristic decrease in activity throughout the brain, particularly in the cortex. However, with the transition to paradoxical rapid eye movement sleep, there is increased activity in a variety of brain regions, including associational cortex and limbic systems; strikingly, metabolic rate can even be higher than during wake periods.Amid this shift, there is a virtually complete cessation of activity in the prefrontal cortex, producing a relatively metabolically active brain that is unconstrained by the regulatory effects of the prefrontal cortex. It has been speculated that this, in effect, accounts for why dreams are ‘dream-like’: characterized by emotional liability, non-sequential thinking and extreme disinhibition.Amid that, general intellig ence and executive function can remain intact. By contrast, when damage occurs at earlier ages, executive function is impaired and the impulsivity  takes on a more global and malign nature that has been termed ‘acquired sociopathy’, where antisocial behaviors can be markedly premeditated. The issue of brain development becomes relevant when considering individuals with sociopathic and antisocial behavior in which there is no obvious history of prefrontal cortex damage.Moreover, when sociopaths must engage the prefrontal cortex, they activate more of the prefrontal cortex than control individuals to achieve the same level of efficacy. In other words, even when these individuals actively attempt to do the ‘harder thing’, their prefrontal cortexes are less effective. Importantly, among such sociopathic individuals, the smaller the volume of the prefrontal cortex, the greater the tendency towards aggressive and antisocial behavior.The Prefrontal Cortex and th e Criminal Justice System:We have come to recognize numerous realms in which a biological abnormality gives rise to aberrant behavior, and such recognition has often then given rise to an expectation that people now exert higher-order control over that abnormality. For example, as noted, we would never consider an epileptic violent who strikes someone in the process of a seizure: ‘it is not him; it is his disease’. However, we expect that pileptic to not drive a car if their seizures are uncontrolled. Or we are coming to understand the euro chemistry of context-dependence relapse into drug dependency in organisms. Thus, we have come to expect ex-addicts to avoid the settings in which they previously abused drugs.There is a false dichotomy in this manner of thinking. It is as if we artificially demarcate an area in which biology dominates: yes, there is something organic that gives rise tothis person having uncontrolled and synchronous neuronal discharges, or who has cer tain pathways potentiated that project onto dopamine-releasing ‘pleasure’ pathways. But it is as if, with that area of organic impairment identified and given credence, we expect it to be bounded, and for the rest of our ‘us-ness’, replete with free will, to now shoulder the responsibility of keeping that organic impairment within the confines of its boundaries. It cannot possibly work this way.What the literature about the prefrontal cortex shows is that there is a reductive, materialistic neurobiology to the containment, resulting in the potential for volitional control to be impaired just as unambiguously as any other aspect of brain function. It is possible to know the difference between right and wrong but for reasons of organic impairment, to not be able to do the right thing. The most obvious implication of this concerns how individuals with demonstrable prefrontal cortex damage are treated in the criminal justice system. As the simplest conclusion, everything about this realm of contemporary neurobiology argues against the retrenchment back towards a sole reliance on M’Naghten that has gone on in recent decades.Amid the seeming obviousness of this conclusion, there is always a valid counter-point that can be raised: there are individuals with substantial amounts of prefrontal cortex damage who, nonetheless, do not commit crimes. At present, knowing that someone has sustained prefrontal cortex damage does not give much power in predicting whether that person’s disinhibition will take the form of serial murder or merely being unable to praise a nearly inedible meal prepared by a host. This seems to weaken the ‘volition can be organically impaired, just like any other aspect of brain function’ argument; in these interstices of unpredictability seem to dwell free will.However, we can begin to imagine tree diagrams of variables that, with each new layer, add more predictive power. We can already see two l ayers in the realm of prefrontal cortex function. The first layer might query, ‘prefrontal cortex: normal or damaged?’   The second might then query, ‘if damaged: damaged in childhood or later?’ This same structure of increasing predictive power was shown in a recent, landmark study concerning clinical depression.Having a particular variant of the gene 5-HTT (which codes for a protein that regulates synaptic levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin) increases the risk of depression. However, ‘5-HTT: pro-depressive variant or other variant?’ gives only a moderate predictive power, but the authors then demonstrated the adding in of a second layer, ‘if the pro-depressive variant: major stressors during childhood or not?’ now generates an impressive predictive power as to which adults succumb to clinical depression. If free will lurks in those interstices, those crawl spaces are certainly shrinking.Recent U.S College Case Study:By Da niel Strueber, Monika Lueck and Gerhard Roth.On September 13, 2006, Kimveer Gill walked into the cafeteria at Dawson College in Montreal and, without apparent motive, shot 21 people, injuring 19 and killing two, including himself. The same day a judge in West  ­Virginia sent a woman to jail for, among other atrocities, forcing her six children and stepchildren to gorge themselves on food and then eat their own vomit. Also on the 13th, a court in New York sentenced a man for killing his girlfriend by setting her on fire–in front of her 10-year-old son. There was nothing special about that Wednesday. From around the world we hear reports of murder, manslaughter, cruelty and abuse every day. Violence is ubiquitous.But what drives one person to kill, maim or abuse another, sometimes for little or no obvious reason–and why do so many violent offenders return to crime after serving time in prison? Are these individuals incapable of any other behavior? We have evaluated the results of studies conducted around the world, focusing on acts ranging from fistfights to murder, in search of the psychobiological roots of violence. Our key conclusion is simple: violent behavior never erupts from a single cause. Rather it results from a combination of risk factors–among them inherited tendencies, a traumatic childhood and other negative experiences–that interact and aggravate one another. This realization has a silver lining: positive influences may be able to offset some of those factors that promote violence, possibly offering hope for prevention.Indeed, male gender is the most important risk factor for violent behavior. As criminal statistics show, boys and young men commit the majority of physical assaults. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's statistics on crime in the U.S., 90.1 percent of murderers apprehended in 2004 were male and men accounted for 82.1 percent of the total number arrested for violent crimes. Girls and women are not necessarily less aggressive, as was assumed until the 1990s. But women engage in more indirect, covert aggression, whereas men tend toward immediate, outward physical aggression.The causes of these gender differences are manifold. Learned sex roles certainly enter into it: â€Å"girls don't hit,† for example, but â€Å"boys need to be able to defend themselves.† Also, indirect aggressive strategies require a relatively high level of social intelligence, which girls develop earlier and faster. Moreover, neuropsychological discrepancies almost certainly play a role. The small group of males who exhibit chronic violent behavior from an early age typically share other telltale traits, among them a low tolerance for frustration,  ­deficiencies in learning social rules, attention problems, a decreased capacity for empathy, low intelligence and, most characteristic, extreme  ­impulsiveness.Similarly, repeat offenders–particularly those who have long prison records seem unable to keep their aggressive urges in check. The late neu ­roscientist Ernest S. Barratt and his colleagues at the University of Texas Medical Branch interviewed imprisoned criminals in Texas in 1999 and found that many inmates consistently picked fights, even though they knew that their lives would be made more difficult as a result. When asked why they continued to behave in ways that hurt them, many responded that they had no idea. Even though they understood the consequences and resolved to act with greater self-control the next time, they did not trust their own ability to keep their impulses at bay.Preliminary research indicates that biology may handicap some of these individuals, making it more difficult for them to show restraint. Among violent offenders, neuroscientists have found anatomical and physiological differences in both the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex, brain regions that are involved in the development and control of emotions. Some sci entists propose that the orbitofrontal cortex, a region of the prefrontal cortex where decision making takes place, inhibits areas of the limbic system–specifically the hypothalamus and the amygdala, primitive brain regions that are a source of fear and aggressive impulses. Thus, if some defect or injury impairs communication between the limbic system and the frontal cortex, a person might not be entirely able to moderate his or her emotional reactions.References:1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.scientificamericanmind.com2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.nature.com/mp/journal/v8/n2/full/4001256a.html3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www. jnnp.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/71/6/7204.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=16934455.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.sciammind.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=33EF147A-E7F2-99DF-3696EF69D814FCFF