Press Releases and Persuasion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Press Releases and Persuasion - Assignment Example The real battle according to some sources centers on cultural forces of godlessness since the various cultural values at some point leave little room for God and at the same time pay less attention to His word. Religions of the world have different teachings and concepts concerning deity. Most religions believe in some supernatural source of power which in some cases is presented in form of Gods or Goddesses. However, every belief has equal stronger attachments to their gods justifying superiority of their own religions based on traditions. Various religions have different deity which they believe in. Buddhism believes in atheism, whereby they totally reject any possibility of God’s existence. Others included in Atheist group are Unitarians and Universalists. Hinduism is considered Henotheist where they believe in many deities where they consider only one to be supreme deity (Viren et al. 1). For instance, paying less attention to religious tolerance led to ignorance on contemptuous issues amongst Christians and Jews. A good example can be drawn from the holocaust issue where religious leaders reacted in different ways. During this period Christians believed that Jews contributed so much in the confusion experienced in their society through destruction of biblical truth like the rock of Peter and were viewed as the generators of the evils of capitalism as well as communism. Christianity as a religion lay claims on the fact that their religion provides ways to forgiveness of sins and attainment of salvation. However, such claims are not acceptable by all Christians hence leading to divergent beliefs causing denial of some crucial life principles. This has since led to vices such as racism and anti-Semitism hence denial of human equality. The same case has been experienced in CAR where Christians battle Muslims resulting in widespread religious conflict

Animals Should Be Used in Scientific Research Essay Example for Free

Animals Should Be Used in Scientific Research Essay Over 100 million animals are used every year in the United States as models in biological and medical research to study human disease, injury, development, psychology, and anatomy and physiology. Research involving animals has played a vital role in virtually every major medical advance of the last century. Even today, there is no complete alternative to biomedical research with animals. The vast majority of research animals are mice and rats bred for this purpose. Dogs, cats, and non-human primates together account for less than one-half of one percent of the total, and this number has declined for more than 25 years. Since 1979, the number of dogs and cats needed in animal research has declined by more than 50%. The number of non-human primates needed represents less than .2% (.18% in 2004) and has remained relatively constant—in the 50,000 per year range—for the past decade. History The history behind animals being used in scientific research is that is started In Europe and in the US by the early 1900s and especially during and following World War I the benefits of animal research continued to be recognized. Following the Nuremberg Trials for atrocities by the Nazis during World War II, society spoke loudly demanding no research on humans until animal research had made such research a reasonable risk. Today, the majority of people in our society do agree with the idea of the humane and responsible use of animals in research. There is safeguard standards for scientific studies on animals * The USDA has set forth federal regulations governing the care and use of animals in biomedical research that are considered even more extensive than those covering human research subjects. * The Animal Welfare Act sets standards of care for research animals with regard to their housing, feeding, cleanliness, ventilation, and medical needs and requires the use of anesthesia or analgesic drugs for potentially painful procedures and during post-operative care. * The US Public Health Service Act requires that all institutions receiving research funds from NIH, FDA, or CDC adhere to the standards set out in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. * Institutions must follow detailed animal care recommendations and establish an IACUC to ensure that all animals are treated responsibly and humanely Some people think that all animals that are in scientific research are in pain or distress while undergoing the research that is not necessarily true. The 2004 USDA Annual Report reveals that 57% of all research procedures with animals involved no more than slight or momentary pain or distress (i.e., an injection). In 34% of research procedures anesthesia and postoperative painkillers were used. In 9% of the procedures, neither anesthesia nor pain medication could be used, as they would have interfered with research results. Scientific Perspectives Here are 4 reasons why animals are used in research: 1. The principles of anatomy and physiology are true for humans and animals, especially mammals. Once scientists learned that animals were similar to humans, in physiology and anatomy, it became preferable to use animals rather than humans for preliminary research. 2. Certain strains or breeds of animals get the same diseases or conditions as humans. Animal Models are frequently critical to understanding a disease and developing appropriate treatments. 3. Research meant introducing one variable and observing the results of that one item. With animals we can control their environment (temperature, humidity, etc.), and shield them from diseases or conditions not related to the research (control their health). Although human and animals get the disease that may be the subject of a research investigation, the different life styles or living conditions make them poor subjects until preliminary research under controlled conditions has been done. 4. We can use scientifically-valid numbers o f animals. Data from one animal or human is not research; it is a case study. To scientifically test a hypothesis, an adequate number of subjects must be used to statistically test the results of the research. Some individuals claim that we should use human or animals that have a disease to study that disease. Certainly, epidemiological studies (tracking the occurrence of a disease or condition) have provided many important insights into the cause of a disease or a condition, especially when an environmental aspect is responsible. However, epidemiological studies are successful in only a limited number of situations. Only if the study of a disease is severely hindered or not possible when the research subjects have been/are exposed to a variety of environmental factors. According to the American Medical Association, humans are the most frequently used animal in research. However, research studies conducted on humans follow preliminary studies conducted in animals. These animal studies make human studies a reasonable risk. The animal studies are not a guarantee of success, but they do tell us that the human research has a reasonable probability of success.

The Russian Revolution at the Kronstadt Navel Base Essay -- European E

The Russian Revolution at the Kronstadt Navel Base Most popular uprisings in recent history have been characterized by a brief period of incredible potential and hope, only to collapse in failure and despair. Even the supposedly 'successful' Russian Revolution of 1917 followed this pattern. Revolutionaries threw off centuries of imperial rule and oppression in order to create a new world of freedom, peace and equality... only to end up with Stalin, purges, gulags, dekulakization - and ultimately decades of Bolshevik1 rule and oppression. Although it can sometimes be disheartening to review this long history of failure and oppression, valuable insights can be gained by investigating these past revolutions. The achievements and promise of the revolutionaries can be studied and their strengths marked. The weaknesses that led to their eventual defeat and decay must also be understood, so that the same mistakes are not made again. This article will address these themes in the context of the Russian Revolution at the Kronstadt navel base.2 Kronstadt deserves special attention for several reasons. The workers, soldiers and sailors at Kronstadt used the Revolution to build "a bustling, self-governing, egalitarian and highly politicized Soviet democracy, the like of which had not been seen in Europe since the days of the Paris Commune."3 This was the great promise of Kronstadt, which Trotsky praised as "the pride and glory of the Russian Revolution."4 Nowhere in Russia, however, was the failure of the revolution so dramatically illustrated as at Kronstadt. After the Bolsheviks consolidated their control of the base in mid-1918, Kronstadt made one last "desperate attempt to restore and reactivate its radical Soviet democracy."5 This... ...or illegally celebrating May Day. 13. Quoted in Getzler, Kronstadt 1917 - 1921 , 18. 14. Ibid., 22 - 26. 15. Ibid., 23 - 24. 16. Ibid., 246 - 247. 17. Ibid., 22 - 24. 18. Ibid., 248. 19. Ibid., 49. 20. Ibid., 36 - 37. 21. Ibid., 42, 254. 22. Ibid., 50, 36. 23. Ibid., 251. 24. Ibid., 58. 25. Ibid., 119. 26. Ibid., 181, 250. 27. Ibid., 186 - 187. 28. Ibid., 188. 29. Ibid., 190 - 191. 30. Ibid., 202. 31. Ibid., ix. 32. Ibid., 204. 33. Avrich, Kronstadt 1921, 78 - 81. 34. Ibid., 75 - 76. 35. Ibid., 5. 36. See, for instance, David Schaich, Kronstadt 1921: An Analysis of Bolshevik Propaganda (Unpublished, 2001), http://halogen.note.amherst.edu/~daschaich/writings/academic/kronstadt1921.html 37. Figes, A People's Tragedy, 768. 38. Avrich, Kronstadt 1921, 3. 39. Ibid., 229. 40. Getzler, Kronstadt 1917 - 1921, 46. 41. Ibid., 246. 42. Ibid., 252.

Medical Billing and Coding

Medical Billing and Coding Medical billing and coding is one of today’s high paying careers. The definition for Medical – code is descriptions that physicians and the heath care providers, and facilities use to describe healthcare procedures and diagnosis into numeric or alphanumeric designations. Coding is the descriptions of diseases, injuries and procedures into numeric or alphanumeric codes, there are three basic steps in locating codes. First we locate the term in the Alphabetic Index, then verify the code number in the Tabular list, finally assign the code when it has been verified by the physician and the coder. We must locate the term in the Alphabetic Index. In coding the correct codes and to be paid by the insurance company the coder must code accurately and precisely so the first step in coding it to locate the main tern in the Alphabetic Index of the coding book. If a main term cannot be located, then try searching for sub terms, notes, or cross- reference. A coder can refer to any notes in the Alphabetic Index. When the code is located it must be verify in the Tabular list coder then will review the title of the chapter, section, and category to make sure that the correct code has been identified. The coder will read and follow instructional notes and refer to any other codes as instructed if the coder is unsure it is then discuss with the physician. Once the main term is verified the coder then will assign the code to be used for several different reasons: reporting medical necessity for services performed, identifying conditions to alert the healthcare provider, and to supply date for clinical care, research and education purposes. â€Å"The importance of consistent, complete documentation in the medical record cannot be overemphasized. Without documentation accurate coding cannot be achieved. †

My Personal Learning Styles

My Personal Learning Style Learning has been going on since the beginning of human kind and is still going on in today’s world. While in the beginning they did not study how they learned they still accomplished many things. Now we study how we learn so that we can hopefully learn more efficiently to accomplish things beyond our wildest dreams. Today I took to learning style quizzes in hopes of learning more about my personal learning styles so that I may improve myself. Today in this essay we will explore learning styles that equate with a preferred bodily sense through which one receives information.The three that are the most popular and explored are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Gaining knowledge about things that connect to the real world that we walk in everyday is of great interest to me. In saying that, I chose to pursue a degree in Public Health, because it something I see every day and became very intrigued by. My chose to obtain a degree also came out of wanting to better myself and the people around me. A very important reason that I wanted to acquire my degree is so that I could be more financially capable to providing a comfortable life for my family.Finishing a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health would also give me a great deal of pride in myself. The two quizzes that I took today were the Felder and Soloman Quiz and the Learning Styles Quiz. They both gave me some good insight to how I learn and suggestions to help me learn more efficiently in any leaning environment. The results from the Felder and Soloman quiz showed me that I was reflective, sensing, verbal, and sequential which seemed to very accurate (Felder & Soloman, n. d. ). As a reflective learner I prefer to think it through quietly, working alone, and taking notes while listening to lectures (Felder & Soloman, n. . ). Being a Sensor tells me that I tend to enjoy learning about facts to the real world, solving problems with well-established methods, and I am patient wi th details (Felder & Soloman, n. d. ). Verbal learning is something I have always enjoyed I just get more out of words–written and spoken explanations (Felder & Soloman, n. d. ). Writing out or seeing steps in my head while trying to process information points to sequential learning where the learner tends to follow logical stepwise paths in finding solutions (Felder & Soloman, n. d. ).The learning styles quiz focused on visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles which made it very straight forward. After taking this quiz the results showed me to be more of an auditory learner with sixty-four percent. As far as visual and kinesthetic learning both of the percentages were at eighteen percent so I definitely lean towards one method. As an auditory learner you prefer to learn by listening and often recall the words you've heard in your mind (Penn State, 2010). This quiz brought to my attention that while taking a written test, I am slow because of speaking to myself as you read (Penn State, 2010).The results of the quizzes that I took were very enlightening to me since I was of the belief that I really did not lean towards one learning style. Felder and Solomans’ quiz was the best out of the two that I experienced today because it was so full of information. I especially like that it gives you helpful tips on how to learn better with the learning styles that you have. Taking the quizzes today helped me better understand my learning style which I know will help me down the line while trying to learn anything.Basically what this essay boils down to is everyone has different ways of learning whether it is auditory, sensing or reflective. Knowing how I learn can be a very helpful tool in my success to completely my degree. Taking a quiz to learn about my learning style proved to be very insightful into my tactics taken while studying. In the end knowledge is power and knowing how to pour it into your mind with understanding is priceless. Reference s: http://www. engr. ncsu. edu/learningstyles/ilsweb. html http://www. howtolearn. com/learning-styles-quiz

Sustainability on Hitachi and Cake Crumbs

Sustainability on Hitachi and Cake Crumbs Hitachi is a leading global electronic company commonly known as Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST). It specializes in the manufacture of hard disc drives, external storage solutions as well as solid state drives. These components are commonly used to handle wide array of data. For instance, data can be generated, stored, processed, retrieved and also disseminated using these components.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sustainability on Hitachi and Cake Crumbs specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Additionally, this company also offers myriad of products, systems and services which are used in data management. Some of these products include electronic devices, information systems, power and industrial systems, financial and logistics services as well as consumer products. Hitachi Company has a wide range of internal and external hard disc drives which offer a satisfactory storage capacity to meet the demand of tech savvy modern users. The drives therefore let one backup and synchronize important data. These drives are known to be reliable and fast enough in terms of speed thus meeting the needs of the consumers. Hitachi has a variety of hard drives and each variety has unique characteristics. Deskstar T7K500 which is a 3.5 inch hard disk drive has a formatted capacity of 250 to 500 GB and works at a speed of 7200 RPM. The disc drive works under a temperature of between 0-60 degrees centigrade and a humidity of 8-90%. The drive is made of sub-drives that are advantageous in that they require minimal running and spinning power and less cooling of the drive. It is also capable of spinning down drives that are not being used at a certain time. In terms of memory, the disc drives possess large Processing memory. Hitachi disk driveAdvertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addit ion to this, the drive possesses data integrity in that in case of power loss, Customers’ data is not lost. It has no preventitive maintenance and can withstand 50,000 Start and stop cycles. Moreover, it has a data recovery system. All these Functional characteristics make the device highly reliable.1 Another organization where the same innovative principle is evidenced is ‘Cake Crumbs’ in Denver. This is a three years old baking company with a notable expansion over the past few years. Apart from cakes, they also make salads and sandwiches. As a result, their supply market has widened with time. They are dedicated to making their customers happy through their services that even involve making deliveries to customers’ residences. In addition to this, they make sure they share news about their products together with any happenings around. They are keen to customers’ suggestions and feedback.2   The shop has made use of a variety of ingredients sour ced from the locality and this has consequently resulted to expansion of its menus to meet demand. Cake baking and decorations scientifically and visionary art forms are employed. The success of ‘Cake Crumbs’ can also be attributed to its creative, experienced, focused and professional employees. In summing up, it is imperative to mention that the invention of the Hitachi disc drives has contributed a lot to the growth of information technology. Its reliability, environmental adaptations, storage and memory capacity among other features increases its suitability across the board. As far as Cake Crumb is concerned, it is definitely an aspect to reckon with. Many businesses can borrow from it. Finally, the following measures are highly recommended: 3 Introduction and distribution of the drives in various geographical locations. Sensitization of both active and prospect consumers through strategic marketing. Marketing of Cake Crumb products to other areas of Colorado an d neighboring countries. The cakes can also be delivered to consumers within their localities in order to reduce physical distance. In addition, sustainable raw materials (ingredients) can be purchased from affordable or less expensive sources. It is important to utilize a lot of media attention techniques for marketing and sustainability. Mostly, the extensive use of social media by the Cake Crumb Company is positive and a good step for extensive marketing. Use of Hitachi disc drives that are relatively smaller in size. Conclusion The companies analyzed have several aspects in common. Most of the similarities relate to techniques of enhancing relevance and sustainability in the market. The following are some of comparisons that can be drawn from the two companies:Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sustainability on Hitachi and Cake Crumbs specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Both companies embrace creativity and innovat iveness as key to remaining relevant in the market. Hitachi Company has drives that are customized and can meet the demands from tech savvy customers. Cake Crumb Company utilizes the social media as a way of capturing both existing and prospective customers. This is creative because it places the company relevant for long. According to Chasser and Wolfe, companies must use available media attention techniques and unique characteristics to maintain their relevance. 4 The two companies have effective customer services. Cake Crumb company has a program that taps suggestions and feedbacks from the customers. The company then tries as much as possible to offer its customers some of their preferences as a form of retaining them. Hitachi Company has myriad of services, systems and products that are at disposals. This kind of variety ensures that customers can easily obtain what they actually need at any given time. The company also customizes some of its products to fit the taste and prefe rences of consumers. It is crucial to mention that good customer service is necessary in any business operation bearing in mind that no single business organization can remain relevant in the market without the positive input of consumers. The two companies are well endowed with strategic business marketing as well as business connecting. The latter is a fundamental form of marketing any kind of company. Most importantly, the direction taken is mainly customer based. It seeks to analyze the needs, tastes and preferences of consumers and streamlining production accordingly.5 The use of social media and widening of the market by Cake Crumb is one way of moving closer to the targeted consumers who are supposed to understand the products being offered in the market and possibly make necessary choices. Hitachi, on the other hand, is keenly focusing on Corporate Social Responsibility especially in management of the environment. Both companies have variety of products for their customers. The element of variety in both product and service portfolio has been utilized by both companies as a marketing strategy of not only maintaining their customers but also attracting new ones.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Bibliography Chaser, Anne Wolfe, Jennifer. Brand rewired: Connecting Branding, creativity, and intellectual property strategy. Hoboken: John Wiley Sons, Inc, 2010. Estes, Jonathan. Smart green: how to implement sustainable business practices in any industry and make money. Hoboken: John Wiley Sons, 2009. Jose, San. â€Å"Hitachi Inspire the Next†. Hitachi. Web. Lichtenthal, David. Fundamentals of business marketing education: A guide for university-level faculty and policymakers. New York: The Haworth Press, Inc, 2004. Team Cake-Crumbs. Pie, â€Å"Beautiful Pie†. Cake Crumbs. Web. Footnotes 1 San Jose, â€Å"Hitachi Inspire the Next†. Hitachi. 2 Team Cake-Crumbs. Pie, â€Å"Beautiful Pie†. Cake Crumbs. 3 Jonathan Estes. Smart green: how to implement sustainable business practices in any industry and make money. Hoboken: John Wiley Sons, 2009,pp. 140-141. 4 Anne Chaser Wolfe, Jennifer. Brand rewired: Connecting Branding, creativity, and intellectual p roperty strategy. Hoboken: John Wiley Sons, Inc, 2010.p. 62. 5David Lichtenthal. Fundamentals of business marketing education: A guide for university-level faculty and policymakers. New York: The Haworth Press, Inc, 2004. p.28.

Free Essays on Business Letter

Dear Ms. Bussell The reason for this letter is to state my interest to be employed in your company, Bussell/Livingstone Interior, Inc (BLI). I became aware of your company through a newspaper ad, and I then went to the website listed to gain more information about your company. After browsing the website, I was intrigued by your work with high profile clients, such as Gianni Versace and Cher. Your expertise in the field is obvious, thus contributing to my interest in your organization. Taking notice in your goal to create a beautiful space without using a single piece of furniture is what has made me realize how innovative your company is. BLI is attentive to client’s needs, and establishing its identity as an interior architecture firm rather than as decorators. You have established homes with the look of the owner’s personality leaving them with the security and comfort of being in â€Å"their† own home. Your firm takes time to sit down with your clients and discuss their exact needs in the expectations of the design of their home. Not many companies do this, which has also made me realize the highly developed standards your company has created. I recently graduated with a Masters Degree in interior design from the California College of Arts & Crafts School of Architectural Studies. Currently, I am interested in finding an environment in which I could not only use my education and skills but further develop my range of experiences and expertise. Among my accomplishments, I have succeeded in redesigning and revitalizing both work space and living area for the current mayor of Ontario. In appreciation for my work, I was honored to receive the city’s Distinguished Student Artist Award. I hope to continue to focus my designs on meeting my client’s needs and interests with reasonable budgets. Not only do I feel both qualified and prepared to join your firm but your work represents exactly the direction I hope to take as my... Free Essays on Business Letter Free Essays on Business Letter Dear Ms. Bussell The reason for this letter is to state my interest to be employed in your company, Bussell/Livingstone Interior, Inc (BLI). I became aware of your company through a newspaper ad, and I then went to the website listed to gain more information about your company. After browsing the website, I was intrigued by your work with high profile clients, such as Gianni Versace and Cher. Your expertise in the field is obvious, thus contributing to my interest in your organization. Taking notice in your goal to create a beautiful space without using a single piece of furniture is what has made me realize how innovative your company is. BLI is attentive to client’s needs, and establishing its identity as an interior architecture firm rather than as decorators. You have established homes with the look of the owner’s personality leaving them with the security and comfort of being in â€Å"their† own home. Your firm takes time to sit down with your clients and discuss their exact needs in the expectations of the design of their home. Not many companies do this, which has also made me realize the highly developed standards your company has created. I recently graduated with a Masters Degree in interior design from the California College of Arts & Crafts School of Architectural Studies. Currently, I am interested in finding an environment in which I could not only use my education and skills but further develop my range of experiences and expertise. Among my accomplishments, I have succeeded in redesigning and revitalizing both work space and living area for the current mayor of Ontario. In appreciation for my work, I was honored to receive the city’s Distinguished Student Artist Award. I hope to continue to focus my designs on meeting my client’s needs and interests with reasonable budgets. Not only do I feel both qualified and prepared to join your firm but your work represents exactly the direction I hope to take as my...

10 Fascinating Facts About Termites

10 Fascinating Facts About Termites Termites have been munching away on wood for millions of years. From the African termites that build mounds taller than men to the subterranean species that destroy homes, these social insects are fascinating creatures to study. Learn more about these decomposers. 1. Termites Are Good for Soil Termites are actually important decomposers. They break down tough plant fibers, recycling dead and decaying trees into new soil. These hungry insects are vital to the health of our forests. As they tunnel, termites also aerate and improve the soil. It just so happens that we build our homes from termite food - wood. 2. Termites Digest Cellulose With the Help of Microorganisms in Their Guts Termites feed on plants directly or on fungus growing on decaying plant material. In either case, they must be able to digest tough plant fibers, or cellulose. The termite gut is loaded with microorganisms capable of breaking down cellulose. This symbiosis benefits both the termites and the microorganisms living within their insect hosts. The termites house the bacteria and protozoa and harvest the wood. In return, the microorganisms digest the cellulose for the termites. 3. Termites Feed on Each Others Feces Termites arent born with all that bacteria in their gut. Before they can start the hard work of eating trees, termites must obtain a supply of microorganisms for their digestive tracts. They engage in a practice known as trophallaxis, or, in less scientific terms, they eat each others poop. Termites must also resupply themselves after they molt, so trophallaxis is a big part of life in the termite mound. 4. Termites Lived 130 Million Years Ago and Have Cockroach-Like Ancestors Termites, cockroaches, and mantids all share a common ancestor in an insect that crawled the Earth about 300 million years ago. Fossil records show the earliest termite specimen dates back to the Cretaceous period. A termite also holds the record for the oldest example of mutualism between organisms. A 100-million-year old termite with a ruptured abdomen was encased in amber, along with the protozoans that lived in its gut. 5. Termite Fathers Help Raise Their Young You wont find deadbeat dads in the termite mound. Unlike in bee colonies, where males die soon after mating, the termite kings stick around. After their nuptial flight, the termite king stays with his queen, fertilizing her eggs as needed. He also shares parental duties with the queen, helping her feed their young predigested food. 6. Termite Workers and Soldiers Are Almost Always Blind In almost all termite species, both the workers and soldiers in a given colony are blind. Since these industrious individuals spend their lives in the confines of the dark, damp nest, they have no need to develop functional eyes. Reproductive termites are the only termites that require eyesight since they must fly to find mates and new nest sites. 7. Termite Soldiers Sound the Alarm Termite soldiers form the worlds tiniest heavy metal mosh pit when danger comes to the nest. To sound the alarm, soldiers bang their heads against the gallery walls to send warning vibrations throughout the colony. 8. Chemical Cues Guide Most Communication in the Termite Colony Termites use pheromones - special chemical scents- to talk to one another and control each others behavior. Termites leave scent trails to guide other workers using special glands on their chests. Each colony produces a distinct scent, identified by a chemical on their cuticles. In some species, the queen can even control the growth and role of her young by feeding them her pheromone-laden poop. 9. New Kings and Queens Can Fly New reproductive termites are winged so they can fly. These young kings and queens, called alates, leave their home colony and fly out in search of a mate, often in large swarms. Each royal pair of king and queen emerges from the swarm together and finds a new place to start a new colony. They break their wings off and settle down in their new home to raise their offspring. 10. Termites Are Well-Groomed You wouldnt think an insect that spends its time in the dirt would be so fastidious about its grooming, but termites make an effort to stay clean. Termites spend a great deal of time grooming each other. Their good hygiene is important to their survival, as it keeps parasites and harmful bacteria under control within the colony.

Martin Luther King Jr I have a dream Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Martin Luther King Jr I have a dream - Essay Example While his oratory skills are legendary, how did King establish credibility with this particular audience? By invoking Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation, he reminds the audience of its history and the promises still to be realized. He also discusses how the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence address the rights of every American, not just certain segments of the population. By doing so, he unites his audience with a common cause that reflects on every citizen. From the standpoint of establishing character, it is clear that he is passionate about the subject and pulls the audience in with both the poetry and practical approach of his words. He gains their respect by addressing the reasonable points of his argument and reminding them that change must be found on â€Å"the high plane of dignity and discipline.† The speech is very charismatic, evident by the way in which the audience responds to King’s words. Eye to eye with the audience, his command is powerful; it is indeed like a minister speaking to his congregation. As the speech progresses with greater energy and rhythm, the audience is engaged in an almost shared religious experience. King appeals to the audience both emotionally and intellectually. He tells them that the struggle for equality involves everyone. By reminding his audience that we are all bound together and referencing various parts of the country, he strengthens his argument. When he says â€Å"We cannot walk alone,† King is reinforcing a sense of community and faith in the goodness of Man. Therefore, he makes those that disagree seem divisive and beholden to the past. I believe his main point involves taking the lessons--and promises--of the past and using them to build a future that has no regard for the color of one’s skin. Speaking of hardships, unity and hope, he makes clear the urgency of his

The Slowdown of Economic Development in China Essay

The Slowdown of Economic Development in China - Essay Example China for the past decade has seen a specular rise in economic growth. But it has faced many crises like democratic economic bubbles, astronomical debt, and overspending. It is a classic case of history repeating itself. What rises comes down and eventually levels out as the countries progress from crafts, agriculture to manufacturing and finally to service and knowledge economy. As a result, the countryside empties out and it no longer serves as the source of cheap labor. With a rise in fixed investment, the marginal return decline and thus each unit of capital generates less output than the previous ones. This is known as the law of diminishing marginal returns. During the Cultural Revolution in China, the growth dived down from as high as of 19% to below zero. Recent Chinese history reflects the role of the exogenous shocks which is far worse as compared to those of cyclical downturn. Such domestic turmoil is a severe attack on growth. Due to the Cultural Revolution, the growth de clined by eight, followed by seven percentage points. The same case happened during the Tiananmen Square massacre, where the growth dropped to 2.5 percent for two consecutive years (Joffe 1). The two revolutions is a fitting example that the more the state tries to grip, the more vulnerable the economy is to political shocks. Hence the Chinese authorities look at every civic disturbance from the point of view of Tiananmen revolt. They fear that their days are numbered. They have seen that the communist party collapsed overnight in the same year which saw protest at Tiananmen Square. Today everyone may be mesmerized by the awesome growth of China. But they cannot defy their verdict of economic history. No country has escaped from this history. The Western intellectuals have concluded that power may breed growth initially, but in the long run, it fails. The same thing is revealed by the affairs of the nation in the 20th century. A supreme leader of a nation may whip his people to brin g about frenzied industrialization which would normally take decades for democracy to achieve. But it is short lived. Top-down economies may succeed at first but it eventually fails as seen in Soviet case. Any Authoritarian government plants the seeds of their own demise. The system may move mountains through its use of power but eventually, the system is itself hardened like a mountain range becoming stony, immovable and impenetrable. The system tries to empower the vested interest so that they can get privileged access and then resists change since it will pose a mortal threat to their income and status. In such a society, the elites try to acquire as much riches a possible, more than what a free market would grant them. The government favors the organized interest and industries which seek more power so that they can gain subsidies, monopolies, protection, and tax subsidies more than the competitive system would grant them. If a state instead of the market determines the economic outcomes then politics will beat profitability. Building permits, Licenses, anticompetitive regulations, import barriers go to those players which are favored by the state. Such a system is not easily repaired. This is what China is facing now. Today China’s export sector contributes to its maximum earning. Once this ends, the countryside of China will not be able to feed the industrial machine with cheap labor.  

Fidel Castro Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Fidel Castro - Research Paper Example The objective of this study presented in the research paper is to prove that effective visionary leadership style of Fidel Castro helped him to bring sustainability ion the country. In addition to this, the researcher provides some examples of his activities and contribution for the country to prove that he was one of the great leaders that have ever produce by Cuba. Fidel Alejandro Castro is one of the popular Cuban politicians and communist revolutionaries. He was born on 13th August, 1926. He became the prime minister of Cuba in the year 1959. He remained prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976. Moreover, he became president of his country in the year 1976. He remained president of his country from 1976 to 2008. However, he known among the people around the globe due to his effective visionary leadership style that helped his country to achieve sustainable growth rate even in some emergency and distressed situation. In addition to this, he also took some other responsibilities of his country. He served Cuba as the Commander in Chief of revolutionary armed force of Cuba from the year 1959 to 2008. However, he drew several examples of appropriate role and responsibility of a leader by helping his country by implementing effective leadership style. The researcher then concluds that his vision and his developed steps or actions can be considered as example of both visionary and democratic leadership style that helped his nation to attain social and economic sustainability and prosperity.

America's Media Contribution to Anorexia and bulimia Research Paper

America's Media Contribution to Anorexia and bulimia - Research Paper Example Although mass media is said to be the underlying source for increased incidence of eating disorders, from unhealthy weight loss and perception to obesity, the innate cultural influence of ideal weight and body shape are already well-embedded in the social system of American nations, especially in United States. The prevalence of â€Å"smoke-screened body type† incidence seemed to impact regions in the western culture. Admittedly, Jones et al. revealed the realistic situations plaguing most citizens in Western countries, where weight and shape dissatisfaction concerns had actually yielded to a number of remedy measures to correct the supposed â€Å"inappropriate† body that the media devised (247). As earlier discussed, media coverage had precluded how people should project themselves in society, to the point where their physiological and psychological well-being are affected in the process. Two main groups are said to be affected most by the challenge of attaining an ide al model-like look, the adolescents and the female groups. Adolescents are in a stage where they are in two opposing sides, the innocence of a child and the near maturity of a young adult. In the brink of such confusing state, adolescents are easily influenced for a number of factors. They are vulnerable to nonconstructive events, as this group experience more pressure from their peers (Dines and Humez 260). As their social circle tend to consume large amounts of media information, it may also shape their ideas on what a great social circle must be--one in which teenagers are ideal in both looks and style. Moreover, women of varying age are also prone to implicit media attacks, as the society they live in had long ago constructed and deeply embedded idea on what women should look like--as skinny individuals who are good to look at. It is where they base their attraction to the opposite sex, by striving to attain physical attributes that media wants them to project--a well-made perso n using beauty products and weight-loss services (Brown, Steele, and Walsh-Childers 126). The revelations show that physical beauty must be worked on, and not a natural thing, where those who fail to do so have little chance of getting a life time partners, or be accepted in a society that highly values the concept of beauty. In the Western regions, the rampant cases of bodily dissatisfaction had threaded towards pathological conditions as result of mass media obsession to what is considered the standard look of attractiveness. In failing to do so, individuals develop cases of conscious behavioral patterns in the hopes of gaining the ideal weight in the future. The rising rate of anorexia nervosa, a condition of inability to be content with extreme weight loss, and bulimia nervosa, the state of normal weight but with further attempts at weight loss methods, is pointed to be caused by the burgeoning mass media influence. Such intensive restrictions in dietary consumption may lead to â€Å"repetitive pattern self-deprivation (which) result in bingeing...and worsening self-image† (Derenne and Beresin 257). The high value placed on attaining the too-ideal to be true body projected by media may result in further damage to the health of deprived individuals. In a study to prove the

Presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Presentation - Essay Example wer in relations in the family influence the use of the Internet?’ Does anybody here ever thought of how parents can actually influence the children’s use of the Internet? Do you agree that our mother or our father has a role to play with regards to a child’s exposure to the use of the Internet? Please raise your hand if you agree that parents have a strong influence in the child’s use of the Internet. Well, the answer to the research question is basically ‘YES’. To address the research question, our team decided to conduct a combined quantitative and qualitative research survey so that we can get a generalized and subjective response from each of the 12 randomly selected research participants. To learn more about the degree in which parents can affect the child’s use of the Internet, my group purposely conducted a combined quantitative and qualitative research survey study on a total of 12 students who are currently around 18 years of age. Basically, we have randomly selected 12 students from our school to participate in the fieldwork. Some of the questions used in the survey include those that are answerable by ‘yes’ or ‘no’. This will eventually give us the opportunity to compute for the generalized result. For example, the first research survey question purposely asked whether or not the research participant is using the Internet at least once a day. The second research survey question asked if the research participants agree that parents (both mother and father) have a strong influence on how you use the Internet. Our team also used an open-ended question which will allow us to generate a more subjective response from each of the research participants. For instance, in question no. 3, the research participants were requested to explain why their mother or their father has more power in controlling their internet usage. Question number 4 purposely asked how their parents influence their use of the Internet when they were young. (Table I

The Bottom Billion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Bottom Billion - Essay Example Collier writes that ‘the countries at the bottom coexist with the 21st century, but their reality is the 14th century: civil war, plague, ignorance’. Collier has studied for decades about the countries, their struggles and their efforts to escape poverty. He wrote the book with a compilation of a lifetime’s findings and technical research. The book focuses on the billions of people who are facing problems because of the never ending poverty (Quinn 1). In this book, Collier has based his research on the hard-headed analysis of the cost-benefits rather than emotional aspects or post colonial guilt. He has talked with facts and the calculations for instance the cost of the badly governed diminishing state and its neighbours is the loss of the economic growth of about $100bn. In this situation, it seems like a bargain to spend a few million dollars on skilled administrators for government support, infrastructure projects and sending troops to put down rebellions. Collier’s findings have overturned the persistent myths about the failure that Africa is facing for decades. He finds that the history of failure and civil wars is not because of the poor politicians or restless populace, but because of poverty. So he states that all countries that are poor and low income face about 14 per cent chances of entering in a civil war during a five year period. Collier writes that the young men who are recruited by the rebel armies are cheap in an environment of immense poverty. Hence, joining the rebel movements give these young men a minor chance of riches (Collier 57). The four poverty traps described in the book includes conflict as the first. Conflict is a trap which cannot be escaped without the help of global aid and support. Other three traps are landlocked with bad or poor neighbours, natural resources abundant and bad governance. Example is that of Switzerland which is landlocked but its neighbours Germany and Italy have giant markets and they are able to sell their goods to rich consumers, whereas Uganda is landlocked but it has neighbours such as Sudan and Somalia that are failed states. Abundant natural resources mean economic boon but in poor countries, these resources mean encouragement for corrupt politicians to snatch power and make economies vulnerable whether it is the oil discovery, copper or diamonds (Saucier 2). Bad governance is a trap which can be seen in Africa and because of which Africa has become disreputable. Countries that are not landlocked and are on the coast can be lucky with the large workforce and for them governance wouldn’t matter much. If the state doesn’t come in the way, growth from exports can take off. However, for countries that are landlocked, the economy is dependent on air-flows or on the revenues from natural resources hence governance is critical. In such countries if bad governance is present, the country can continue to fail. Collier has given the example of Chad where the cash that has to be spent on government healthcare sector, is disappeared even before it reaches the hospitals. This book overall addresses the poorest billion people in the world, most of who are in Africa. Collier has analyzed about 58 countries in this world that harbour the poorest people. The four traps are what cause the poverty to increase and the nations to fail. These traps cause the divergence of these countries from the rest of the world. These countries are failing since

Presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Presentation - Essay Example wer in relations in the family influence the use of the Internet?’ Does anybody here ever thought of how parents can actually influence the children’s use of the Internet? Do you agree that our mother or our father has a role to play with regards to a child’s exposure to the use of the Internet? Please raise your hand if you agree that parents have a strong influence in the child’s use of the Internet. Well, the answer to the research question is basically ‘YES’. To address the research question, our team decided to conduct a combined quantitative and qualitative research survey so that we can get a generalized and subjective response from each of the 12 randomly selected research participants. To learn more about the degree in which parents can affect the child’s use of the Internet, my group purposely conducted a combined quantitative and qualitative research survey study on a total of 12 students who are currently around 18 years of age. Basically, we have randomly selected 12 students from our school to participate in the fieldwork. Some of the questions used in the survey include those that are answerable by ‘yes’ or ‘no’. This will eventually give us the opportunity to compute for the generalized result. For example, the first research survey question purposely asked whether or not the research participant is using the Internet at least once a day. The second research survey question asked if the research participants agree that parents (both mother and father) have a strong influence on how you use the Internet. Our team also used an open-ended question which will allow us to generate a more subjective response from each of the research participants. For instance, in question no. 3, the research participants were requested to explain why their mother or their father has more power in controlling their internet usage. Question number 4 purposely asked how their parents influence their use of the Internet when they were young. (Table I

Post Colonial Intervention in Somalia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Post Colonial Intervention in Somalia - Essay Example The civil war issue has been the main target of many humanitarian as well as peacekeeping missions such as the AMISOM but the conflict still exists as a result of various factors such as the fact that countries have intervened for their own selfish reasons such as oil and trade routes. These will be explored in the paper as an analysis of the various interventions is presented.The civil war issue has been the main target of many humanitarian as well as peacekeeping missions such as the AMISOM but the conflict still exists as a result of various factors such as the fact that countries have intervened for their own selfish reasons such as oil and trade routes. These will be explored in the paper as an analysis of the various interventions is presented. Six main United Organizations were involved in coordinating overall humanitarian efforts in Somalia: the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNHCR, UNICEF, and WHO. In addition, over 30 NGOs worked as implanting partners of the UN in Somalia. Among the things that were addressed by the United Nations organizations together with the NGOs included coming up with priority options that could aid combat famine and loss of innocent lives in Somalia. However, delayed international media coverage of the conflict played a significant role in triggering international responses (Schraeder, 2006).The first reports by the NGOs who were residing in the country when Said Barre was overthrown did not receive significant attention.

Burkitt Lymphoma Essay Example for Free

Burkitt Lymphoma Essay Burkitt Lymphoma was mapped out in geographic distribution across Africa by Dr. Denis Parsons Burkitt (Huang 2005). This disease is a high grade B-cell neoplasm, which has two major forms: the endemic (i. e. African nature) and the non-endemic (i. e. sporadic nature). Burkitt Lymphoma is mainly found as childhood tumor, yet it is, also, observed in adult patients (Huang 2005). This Lymphoma type is one of the fastest growing malignancies in humans, and it has a high growth fraction (Huang 2005). Burkitt Lymphoma is a monoclonal proliferation of B lymphocytes that is characterized by small non-cleaved cells is appeared to be uniform in appearance (Huang 2005). It produces a diffuse pattern of tissue involvement. While under the microscope, this lymphoma is characterized by the presence of a â€Å"starry sky† appearance due to scattered macrophages with phagocyte cell debris; this is observed in other highly proliferate lymphomas, as well (Huang 2005). The African form of this lymphoma most often involves the maxilla or mandible and the involvement of abdominal organs, for instance the kidneys, ovaries, and retroperitoneal structures, but is somewhat less common (Huang 2005). On the contrary, the sporadic form involves the abdominal organs: distal ileum, cecum, and mesentery. The involvement of pelvic organs or facial bones is rare (Huang 2005). The majority of Burkitt Lymphomas carry a translation of the c-myc oncogene from chromosome eight to the immunoglobulin (lg) heavy-chain region on chromosome fourteen (t 8;14)or a light-chain loci chromosome two (t 8;2)or chromosome twenty-two (t 8;22) (Huang 2005). Within the African form of Burkitt Lymphoma, The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been implicated strongly and the relationship in the sporadic form is less clear (Huang 2005). Epstein-Barr virus is associated in approximately twenty percent of sporadic cases. The rare cases in adult are usually associated with immunodeficiency, predominantly AIDS, respectively (Huang 2005). Some have reasoned, the host is unable to generate adequate T-lymphocyte response or Epstein-Barr specific cytoxic T-cells (Huang 2005). This subsequently results in excessive B cell proliferation. The lymphocytes have receptors especially for the Epstein-Barr virus and are the specific targets (Huang 2005). In the African form, the hosts are believed to be unable to increase a suitable immune response to primary Epstein-Barr infection. This is possible due to coexistent malaria or other infections that are immunosuppressive, also (Huang 2005). Burkitt Lymphoma is an extremely rare cancer in the United States, with only 100 new cases each year. However, Burkitt Lymphoma is endemic in many regions of equatorial Africa and other tropical regions between latitudes 10 ° south and 10 ° north. The frequency of this cancer in these endemic regions is 100 per million children (Huang 2005). The male-to-female ratio is 2-3:1, and the most common a in children is seven years of age is the mean in African, eleven years of age is the current mean outside of Africa (Huang 2005). Prior to aggressive therapeutic treatment program, children with Burkitt Lymphoma died rapidly. However, with a combination of chemotherapy and CNS prophylaxis the survival rate has increase to at least sixty percent; and patients with a limited disease now have a ninety percent chance of survival (Huang 2005). Patients with bone marrow and CNS involvement have a poor prognosis. Adults with the disease, especially those in the advanced stage, do more poorly than affected children (Huang 2005). In the African form, patients most often present swelling of the mandible and other facial bone with the loosening of teeth, and swelling of the lymph nodes, which have rapid growth below the mandible (Huang 2005). Patients who have the sporadic form are commonly presented with abdominal tumors that cause swelling and pain in the affected area; few patients have symptoms of bowel obstruction that is caused by tumor growth (Huang 2005). Burkitt tumors growth is tremendously rapid in nature, and patients have evident metabolic derangement and renal function impairment and may include epidural mass, skin nodules, central nervous system symptoms, and bone marrow involvement (Huang 2005). Rare cases of Burkitt lymphoma can present acute leukemia with fever, anemia, bleeding, and adenopathy (Huang 2005). Foremost indicators of Burkitt Lymphoma include soft tissue mass associated with involvement of the mandible, enlarged cervical lymph nodes, abdominal masses, and ascites (Huang 2005). Moreover, the exact cause and mechanisms of this lymphoma are presently unknown. It is important that Burkitt Lymphoma is distinguished from other abdominal tumors in childhood, such as Wilms tumor, neuroblastoma, and peripheral neuroectodermal tumor (Huang 2005). Also, within the bone marrow, B and T precursors and myeloid leukemia must be distinguished (Huang 2005). Systemic chemotherapy is the treatment for this lymphoma is all its stages. The survival rate ultimately depends on the stage at initial diagnosis (Huang 2005). Patients with a localized infection respond well to chemotherapy, with an excellent rate of survival. Cyclophosphamide therapy has been curative for eighty percent of children in Africa with the early stage of Burkitt Lymphoma (Brock 1996). The effect of cyclophosphamide is due to its metabolite phosphoramide mustard (Brock 1996). The metabolite is only formed in cells which have low levels of aldehyde dehydrogenase. The Phosphoramide mustard forms DNA cross links between and within DNA strands this leads to cell death (Brock 1996). However, combination chemotherapy has improved treatment results. Intensive, short-duration, alkylator-based regimens are necessary for all patients with the sporadic form (Huang 2005). In patients with AIDS, Burkitt Lymphoma is in advanced stage at time of diganosis and tends to involve extranodal sites (Huang 2005). Furthermore, because of underlying immunodeficiency and leukopenia, these patients tolerate systemic chemotherapy very poorly. A patient’s expiration usually follows shortly after diagnosis (Huang 2005). A nine week regiment of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone was effective for early stages of the disease and a longer regimen included a combination with radiation (Link et al. 1997). The cure rate more than exceeded ninety percent with minimal toxicity. Therefore, a lesser-intensive therapy is under evaluation as a potentially effective means to steer clear of unnecessary toxicity for patients with early stages (Link et al. 1997). This may achieve similar cure rates obtained with prolonged treatment (Link et al. 1997). Vanderbilt Medical Center has reported results for patients with poor-prognosis non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, which includes Burkitt Lymphoma, using a high dose and short-duration combined chemotherapy comprising cyclophosphamide, etoposide, doxorubicin, vincristine, bleomycin, methotrexate with leucovorin rescue, prednisone (Huang 2005). Burkitt Lymphoma patients have a high risk of tumor lysis syndrome before chemotherapy is started because of rapid tumor cell turnover (Huang 2005). This is a life-threatening situation and should be anticipated and addressed to the patient prior to beginning treatment (Huang 2005). Treatment should be preformed at a proper facility with renal dialysis is available, predominantly for patients with progression of disease (Huang 2005). Treatment of recurrent Burkitt lymphoma is difficult. Bone marrow transplantation is the only hope of long-term survival for these patients (Huang 2005). Burkitt Lymphoma is a high grade B-cell neoplasm, which is highly endemic in Central Africa and sporadic throughout other countries (Huang 2005). This disease is the fastest growing malignancy in children. A combination chemotherapy is the most effect mode of treatment and has high cure rates within early stages, and the moderate cure rates for progressed patients (Huang 2005). References Brock N. (1996). The history of the oxazaphosphorine cytostatics. Cancer. 78:542-7. Link MP, Shuster JJ, Donaldson SS, et al. (1997). Treatment of children and young adults with early-stage non-Hodgkins lymphoma. New England Journal of Medicine. 30 October 1997; 337(18): 1259-66. Huang, H, MD, PhD et al.. (2005). Burkitt Lymphoma. eMedicine. Date visited 19 April 2006. http://www. emedicine. com/med/topic256. htm

Comparing the American Dream in Millers Death of a Salesman and Hansbe

Comparing the Destructive American Dream in Miller's Death of a Salesman and Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun America is a land of dreamers. From the time of the Spanish conquistadors coming in search of gold and everlasting youth, there has been a mystique about the land to which Amerigo Vespucci gave his name. To the Puritans who settled its northeast, it was to be the site of their â€Å"city upon a hill† (Winthrop 2). They gave their home the name New England, to signify their hope for a new beginning. Generations of immigrants followed, each a dreamer bringing his own hopes and aspirations to the green shores. The quest was given a name – the American Dream; and through the ages, it has been as much a symbol of America as the lady in the harbor, a promise of America’s riches for all who dare to dream and strive to fulfill their ambitions. Dreamers apotheosized fellow dreamers like Rockefeller and Carnegie, holding them to be the paradigm from which all could follow. But behind the meretricious dream lies the cold reality. A country built upon survival of the fittest has no sympathy for those who serve as the steppingstones for othe rs’ success. For every person who reaches the zenith, there are countless others trapped in the valleys of despair by their heedless dash to reach the top. Playwrights Arthur Miller and Lorraine Hansberry memorialize the failures in their works Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the Sun. Their central dreamers, Miller’s Willy Loman and Hansberry’s Walter Lee Younger, like children at a candy shop window, are seduced by that success which can be seen so clearly, yet is so unreachable. Ardent followers of the hype of America, they reveal that, far from being a positive motivator, the Ame... ...n. Ed. Harold Bloom. Modern Critical Interpretations. New York: Chelsea, 1988. 47-58. Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin, 1977. Nemiroff, Robert. Introduction. A Raisin in the Sun. By Lorraine Hansberry. New York: Vintage, 1988. 5-14. Turner, Darwin T. "Visions of Love and Manliness in a Blackening World: Dramas of Black Life Since 1953." Black Scholar 25.2 (1995): 2-13. EBSCO. Wake Co. Public Lib. 5 Jan. 2001 <http://www.ebscohost.com>. Wilson, Robert N. â€Å"The Salesman and Society.† The Writer as Social Seer. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1979. 57-71. Rpt. in Willy Loman. Ed. Harold Bloom. Major Literary Characters. New York: Chelsea, 1991. 79-89. Winthrop, John. â€Å"A Model of Christian Charity.† American History Online. 28 Mar. 2001. <http://longman.awl.com/history/primarysource_2_4.htm>.

Know It Alls :: essays research papers

Know It All’s Just because a person thinks they know it all, doesn’t mean they can teach. In America, the land of the free, gives this privilege every year to many people. They get their Masters or even a PHD degree in college and think they can mold the minds of others. This is such a farce. The degree may give you the right to become a teacher or even a doctor, but it does not mean you will be a good one. Teaching comes from the heart. If you absolutely love what you are doing it will show in class. It will show in the faces of the students. It will show with the in class discussions with the students. And finally, it will show in the test scores from the class. How the class is doing, in the subject, reflects totally on the teacher. If the whole class is failing, then the teacher has failed as well. So couldn’t we say that this kind of teacher has fallen through the cracks? Like so many illiterate people who get all the way through the twelfth grade and still don’t know how to read. People learn in different ways. We are all different. Just because I know how to play the piano, doesn’t mean that the student next to me in class can play the piano as well, and I do not expect it. We all have different levels of talent and different levels of ability to learn. Some people just get it and everything comes easy. Some people struggle with some things and some with everything. This is where the teacher has to adjust their teaching skills to fit these needs. Everyone can not be taught the same way. I had this experience in college with the worst teacher that taught Microeconomics and a Psychology class. Yes I was slammed twice. He introduced himself and bragged for an hour and a half about his vast degrees and his experience in Vietnam and all the places he had seen and basically things I did not need to know. After listening to him I felt like I was in shell shock. I kept asking myself, â€Å"What does this have to do with this class?† He would jump from one subject to another and go off on a tangent. And of course we were all expected to read his mind. He would start a sentence and expect you to finish it.

Dollar General Case Study Essay

Dollar General is a retailing company, especially extreme value oriented. Since its establishment in 1955, Dollar General has drastically grown. In 10 years, from 1955 to 1965, the Company grew to 255 stores with annual sales of $25.8 million. Today, Dollar General owns 6,300 stores in 27 states, with 2002 annual sales of $6.1 billion and more than 54,000 employees. This growth was extremely fast in the 1990’s. The number of stores grew so from 1,461 in 1991 up to 6,113 in 2002. Since the beginning, Dollar General takes advantage of a niche by setting up profitable small stores delivering convenience and value. All the Dollar  General’s Strategy is based on a customer-driven distribution of consumable basics. Financial situation of the Company remains really satisfying in spite of shareholders lawsuits due to restatement of its earnings few years ago. Revenue growth was equal to 12.6% in 2003 for a total amount of $7.24 billion. Its net income was the largest of the sector with $319.9 million. In the same time, and over the last three years, the Company has reduced its long-term debt by $448 million. Such a success can be explained by a really good positioning of the Company through its external environment and among its direct competitors. Dollar general knows very well how to manage the exploited niche and its opportunities. The main strength of Dollar General remains its ability to constantly open new stores, knowing that the key success holds in the proximity of small stores delivering convenience and value. It is in fact a kind of necessary comparative advantage on this market. The new CEO, David Perdue has got no experience of retail industry. He has to choose in which direction Dollar General will go. He has to go on the expansion of the Company but with the arrival of new and very powerful competitors such as Wall-Mart or Kmart. 1. Background Dollar General is a discount retailer of general merchandise, with around 6,300 discount stores in over 27 states in 2003. The Company, which headquarters are based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee engages in the provision of general merchandise at low prices, serving customers in Midwestern and Southeastern US. The Company offers its customers an assortment of consumable basic merchandise, which includes: health and beauty aids, packaged food products, cleaning supplies, hardware, stationery, household items and basic apparels. The majority of its items are priced at $1. The Company employed around  54,000 employees. Their buying staffs negotiate low purchase prices from suppliers. It purchases its merchandise from various major suppliers. To maintain high in stock levels of core merchandise, the Company usually limits its stock-keeping units per store. Timeline In 1939, with only a third grade education, J.L. Turner formed his own company in Scottsville, Kentucky, with his son, Cal. In 1955, Cal Turner and his son Cal Turner Jr. opened the first Dollar General store in Springfield, Kentucky. In 1965, they operated in 255 stores and generated $25.8 million of sales. In 1976, Dollar General exceeds annual sales of $100 million for the first time. At the beginning of the 1990s, the Company’s annual sales kept increasing and began to expand store sizes from 5,000 square feet to 6,800 square feet. In 2000, Dollar General’s corporate employees move to Goodlettsville, Tennessee. The move also saw the most aggressive store reset in the Company’s history, in which, more than 5,000 stores were set. In 2001, the Company began offering perishable products. This program included a selection of dairy products, meats, frozen foods and ice cream, and was expanded from 411 stores at the end of 2001 to 1,367 stores at the end of 2002. In February 2003, 7 distribution centres which served around 6,192 stores in 27 states and generated in net sales $6.1 millions. 2. Dollar General diagnosis a. Financial analysis Net Sales Increases in net sales resulted primarily from 587 net new stores and a same-store sales increase of 4.0% in 2003 compared to 2002, and 573 net new stores and a same-store sales increase of 5.7% in 2002 compared to 2001. The Company’s merchandising strategy in recent years has been to place a greater emphasis on faster-turning consumable products and to give less prominence to slower-turning home products and clothing. The Company believes that this strategy has enabled it to better serve its customers while improving its inventory turns. As a result of this strategy, over the past three years the highly consumable category has become a greater percentage of the Company’s overall sales mix while the percentages of the home products, seasonal product and basic clothing categories have declined. In 2002 and 2003, the mix was as follows (in percent of sales): 2003 2002 Highly Consumable 63% 60.2% Seasonal Products 15% 16.3% Home Products 12% 13.3% Basic Clothing 10% 10.2% The Company’s same-store sales increase in 2003 over 2002 of 4.0%, or $228.3 million, was due to a number of factors, including but not limited to: increased sales of candy and snacks, health and beauty aids items, pet supplies and perishable products primarily due to the increase in the number of stores with coolers (in 2002, 1,400 stores had coolers). Gross Profit The gross profit increased by more than 200 millions dollar in 2003 as compared with 2002 primarily due to the following: The Company made progress in reducing the shrink at problem stores during 2003. Some of the actions taken by the Company to combat shrink beginning in 2002 included the installation and the implementation of software that improve the inventory management. They also invest in others technologies which help purchasing and store allocation decisions. Current Financial Condition The Company has also to deal with its accounting issues due to the uncertainty about their past financial reports. The Company is still under the investigation of the US Securities and Exchange Commission and has to provide solid proof for every financial figures published and for every transactions done. b. Strengths and weaknesses analysis STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES One of the leading dollar store retailers in the US Improved financial performance Stores located in small communities Invested in better distribution facilities Space issues Merchandise mix problems Lost of competitive advantage Strengths Dollar General is one of the leading dollar store retailers in the US. The Company enjoys a strong market position within this particular segment of the retail market. It has a low cost operating structure and a relatively limited assortment of products offered. The Company’s strong market position will help to enhance Dollar General’s brand awareness. Dollar General is well known Company which does not need to communicate on their strategy because of their strong identity, they have low communication cost. This will in turn make it easier for the Company to attract new custom. Their strong store experience allows the ability to develop their strategy with a high knowledge experience. It facilitates their expansion strategy. The Company improved its financial performance and increased in revenue in 2003 up to $6.1 billion after a 15% increase in 2002. Net income also grew by 27,7% in 2003 reaching $264,946. Stores are located in small communities, meaning it does not have to compete with the larger retail outlets for custom. Moreover they have made better distribution investments which allow them to have better facilities in their distribution and lower costs. Weaknesses Growing fast, involved learning experiences, duplicating models, and creating format. It has been a force during a few years. Nowadays, Dollar General has to adapt its stores to the demand, and follow the market growth. Merchandise mix problems Dollar General has also experienced merchandise mix problems in recent years. These merchandise mix problems have led to the Company’s inventories becoming obsolete. This has forced Dollar General to write down some of the value of its inventories. The concept of dollar store has been a success, and many competitors are on the general store traces. Their concept has been copied, so their competitive advantage and their strategy are no more as efficient as in the  beginning. Competitors have also learnt form the Company’s experience. 3. External Analysis a. Competitors According to the case the two major competitors of Dollar General Corporation are: Family dollar Dollar tree These two companies have adopted the same strategy than Dollar General. Their expansion has been fast, they have the same customers, and the same core business. Although they have many customers such as The Talbots, Inc.Fred’s, 7-Eleven, Sears Roebuck, Wal Mart, 99 Cents Only Stores, Kmart or Target. COMPETITOR COMPARISON (2002) The following chart shows the differences between those three companies. Comparison criteria – 2 – 1 0 1 2 Industrial Equipment (number of stores, distribution center†¦) Wide of product range Productivity Profitability Pricing Image Penetration rate Revenue Growth over the past year Dollar Tree Family Dollar Dollar General Following this graph study it seems Dollar General generally remains the most impressive competitors of the sector. DG remains the best in term of image, penetration rate (even if it is only present in 27 states whereas the others are present in about 40 states), financial position (they have the best Net Income 265 millions dollars, Dollar Tree: 155 millions and Family Dollar: 217 millions) and in term of selling force thanks to its still greater number of stores (6,113 stores for 54,000 employees, Dollar Tree: 2,263 stores for less than 9,600 employees and Family Dollar: 4,616 stores for less than 22,000 employees). [ in 2004, Dollar Tree has got 9,600 employees and Family Dollar 22,000 employees according to Yahoo.com so we can guess that it was inferior in 2002] Nevertheless DG has to take care not to lose its leadership concerning the wide of product range proposed. And even if the target household income is not exactly the same than Dollar Tree, DG has also to pay attention to the politic pricing implemented by Dollar Tree, which is in fact the best of the sector thanks to products price at $1 or less than $1. But generally, DG remains really well positioned among its competitors. b. Opportunities and threats analysis OPPORTUNITIES THREATS New distribution centers Business less susceptible to slowdown in consumer spending Stores expansion in new states Size of the stores New competition People qualification Dependency to suppliers Opportunities The Company is dependent upon the smooth functioning of its distribution network and upon the capacity of its distribution centers. The Company relies on the ability to replenish depleted inventory through deliveries to its distribution centers from suppliers. New distribution centers are expected in the end 2004 or in 2005 in order to support continued growth. The dollar business is less susceptible to a slowdown in consumer spending compared with other retail operations because over a third of its stock costs $1 or less. This will mean that Dollar General’s business will not be affected as much as other high cost and high margin led retail operations, as in times of economic distress consumers will look to save money by purchasing goods that are perceived to offer better value from retailers such as Dollar General. So they have the possibility to gain market share if the economy slowdown. The stores are located in only 27 states so they have the possibility to open new stores and to expand into additional states. It will depend on factors that are beyond the Company’s control such as: the ability to negotiate favourable lease terms; the ability to hire and train new personnel,  especially store managers; the ability to identify customer demand in different geographic areas. The size of the stores is from 5,000 to 6,800 square feet, whereas Family Dollar stores’ size is from 7,500 to 9,500. It shows that DG can extend the size of their stores in order to grow their sales. Threats The discount retail merchandise business is subject to excess capacity and some of the Company’s competitors are much larger and have substantially greater resources than the Company. The competition for customers has intensified in recent years as larger competitors, such as Wal-Mart, have moved into the Company’s geographic markets. The Company remains vulnerable to the marketing power and high level of consumer recognition of these major national discount chains, and to the risk that these chains or others could venture into the â€Å"dollar store† industry in a significant way. The Company’s success depends to a significant extent upon the abilities of its senior management team and the performance of its employees. The loss of services of key members of the Company’s senior management team or of certain other key employees could negatively impact the Company’s business. In addition, future performance will depend upon the Company’s ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified employees to keep pace with its expansion schedule. The Company’s business is dependent on its ability to obtain attractive pricing and other terms from its suppliers. The Company believes that keeping good relations with its suppliers is generally a good way to obtain attractive pricing. If the Company fails to maintain good relations with its suppliers, it may not be able to obtain attractive pricing with the consequence that its net sales or profit margins would be reduced. 4. Problem identification Dollar General’s strategy is based on low prices and convenience. That is what differentiates this Company from another. They had the ability for delivering value to their customers and for placing many stores where other big-box retailers will not is well-deserved. The new CEO, David Perdue, which has no experience in retail industry, has to go on the expansion. But he has to face the problem of a harder competition. Indeed, the success of dollar stores attract big firm such as Wall-Mart and Kmart on this market. So where will he decide to open new stores? He will probably has to expand new stores in new states but he might not find a location without competitors.

Bureaucratic Management Theory Essay

Weber’s theory of bureaucratic management has two essential elements. First, it entails structuring an organization into a hierarchy. Secondly, the organization and its members are governed by clearly defined rational-legal decision-making rules. Each element helps an organization to achieve its goals. An organizational hierarchy is the arrangement of the organization by level of authority in reference to the levels above and below it. For example, a vice-president of marketing is below the company’s president, at the same level as the company’s vice president of sales, and above the supervisor of the company’s social media department. Each level answers to the level above it with the ultimate leader of the organization at the top. The easiest way to understand the term rational-legal decision making rules is to think of it as a set of explicit and objective policies and procedures that governs how an organization functions. Examples of rational-legal decision-making rules include human resources rules and policies or the regulations governing who is entitled to unemployment insurance. Bureaucracies are all around us – this form of organization, which is comprised of non-elected officials who implement rules, is not only common in the public sector but in the business world as well. Examples of bureaucracies in the public sector include the Social Security Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and public universities. Among the oldest bureaucratic structures in the country is the United States Military. In the private sector, most large business firms have a bureaucratic organization. Examples of private sector firms with a bureaucratic structure include IBM, GM and the Union Pacific Railroad. Knowing how bureaucratic management works can lead to a better understanding of how government agencies and large business firms operate – it can assist you in interacting with complex organizations, whether it be seeking social security benefits or working for a large corporation. Max Weber Max Weber. Published in the US before 1923 and public domain in the US. Max Weber – Father of Modern Organizational Theory One of the most important thinkers in modern organizational theory, Max Weber (1864-1920), is the father of the bureaucratic management theory. Weber was a German sociologist and political economist that viewed bureaucracy in a positive light, believing it to be more rational and efficient than its historical predecessors.

“Death Penalty” Pros and Cons

â€Å"Death Penalty† Pros and Cons Francisco X. Lendor Introduction to Criminal Justice (1102 CCJS100 4021) Due on: Tuesday, March 26, 2011 â€Å"Death Penalty† – Pros and Cons History over the years has taught us of many different ways on how to control or punish people who don’t follow the rules and laws imposed by society and courts. These are adopted by society to establish behavior standards. Whether some of them are effective or not, these must be respected in order to not fall into a severe punishment like the death penalty. Aâ€Å"The enormity of killing one’s fellow man with premeditation is the principal reason for the existence of the death penalty. † Throughout history, death penalty has been debated in many different ways. Groups protesting bring up their point of views with their pros and cons to defend their position in favor or against this punishment. A perfect example of why some groups oppose to this penalty is discussed in articles 1â€Å"Anti-death penalty groups raising money for exonoree Anthony Graves†, by Diane Jennings, and in 2â€Å"Testimony to begin today in death penalty trial of man accused of killing wife, stepdaughter and showing stepsons their bodies†, by Jennifer Emily. In the first article, a group from the Texas Moratorium Network was raising money to help, in this case, Anthony Graves. Graves spent 18 years in jail for murders he never committed, and was finally released from the â€Å"death row† from Texas after prosecutors declared him innocent. On the other hand, on the second article, Gary Green was facing a final decision to be convicted of capital murder in Texas. After stabbing his wife, he killed her 6-year-old daughter and proceeded to show their bodies to his stepsons. Jurors in this case were to decide Bâ€Å"whether to impose a death sentence or send him to prison for life without parole. † Death penalty brings positive and negative contributions to society. Even though, there have been a lot of proven mistakes when imposing it, and it still shows to be unsuccessful on removing evil from society. One of the pros death penalty contributes to society is that it deters some population from committing murder. It also gives peace of mind to the victim and their families and puts an end to the crime. Also, the fear of the highest form of punishment will keep potential victims alive. Sometimes families of the victims begin their healing process once the murderer is put to death. Politically seen, it also gives pride to politicians and some others may even secure their â€Å"positions† by taking a well known murder case to a closing point. Proponents of the death penalty say Câ€Å"it is an important tool for preserving law and order, deters crime, and costs less than life imprisonment. † They also argue that Dâ€Å"retribution helps console grieving families, and ensures that the perpetrators of heinous crimes never have an opportunity to cause future tragedy. † But it comes to the fact that these arguments just help them justify their support to punishment, while it is still not supported by a majority. Society still has a lot of issues against the death penalty. One of the most commonly questions people ask themselves is; what would it accomplish to put someone on death row? If the victim is already dead, you cannot bring him back. It is not true that the opponents feel â€Å"fear of death† will prevent one of committing murder. Statistics show that most of the murders are done on the heat of passion when a person is unable to think rationally. Therefore, how can one think of fear in the â€Å"heat of passion? † Opponents also argue the fact that there have been a lot of cases where the person being convicted was mistakenly accused. Worse than that, many have often been mistakenly killed due to the capital punishment process, and it is often inconsistently and arbitrarily applied. For Christians, a perfect example of a person driven to the death row being â€Å"mistakenly accused† was Jesus. Legitimate murderers, in the bible, were granted freedom and forgiveness, but Jesus was convicted, accused, and finally killed. This argument is mostly used by religious activists and protesters against the death penalty. People with deep-rooted belief to religious viewpoint often defend the right to life above any punishment that will threaten or jeopardize it. Based on the information published in both articles resumed above, and over the internet, I conclude that death penalty is not a deterrent, as violent crime rates show to be consistently higher in death penalty jurisdictions. Whether you are a hardened criminal or a government representing the people, killing another human being is wrong. It is wrong from the eyes of the â€Å"justice†, and so it is wrong viewed from the eyes of God or the â€Å"Supreme Being† in which we believe. Keeping killers off the streets for good through the Life Without Parole (LWOP) also prevents re-offending without having to harm murderers’ life. As Voltaire once wrote; Eâ€Å"let the punishments of criminals be useful. A hanged man is good for nothing; a man condemned to public works still serves the country, and is a good living lesson. † BIBLIOGRAPHY . UMUC Library: Guide to Criminal Justice  Resources—UMUC Article: Anti-death penalty groups raising money for exonoree Anthony Graves, by Diane Jennings – Reporter of Dallas Morning News UMUC Library: Guide to Criminal Justice  Resources—UMUC Article: â€Å"Testimony to begin today in death penalty trial of man accused of killing wife, stepdaughter and showing stepsons their bodies†, by Jennifer Emily – Reporter of Dallas Morning News REFERENCES â€Å"CITED† TIME in Partnership with CNN (online): http://www. time. com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,905684,00. html 2nd paragraph of: UMUC Library: Guide to Criminal Justice  Resources—UMUC Article: â€Å"Testimony to begin today in death penalty trial of man accused of killing wife, stepdaughter and showing stepsons their bodies†, by Jennifer Emily – Reporter of Dallas Morning News 2nd paragraph of: http://deathpenalty. procon. org/ 2nd paragraph of: http://deathpenalty. procon. org/ http://www. deathpenaltyinfo. org/

No Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

No - Essay Example Competitive rivalry The competition in the automobile industry is relatively high since the companies have flooded the market thus offering customers’ a number of choices. This high competition result to companies earning low profits since the costs of the entire competition will also be high. Moreover, Better Places will face competition from other energy producers such since they all struggle to occupy a stable position in the market. A number of oil companies have linked with major car producers across the globe whereby they make lots of profits are being made. Threat from new competitors The industry dealing with hybrid electric vehicles is stable and well established. It has maintained a significant average annual growth for many years. Thus, the potential level of threat from the new competitors is categorized as medium. This is because competition in this industry is already high hence it is quite discouraging for the new companies that are struggling to get into the ma rket. However, one of the largest threats is from the new competitors that are environmentally conscious in their lines of production. Threat from consumers Consumption begins with wholesalers and retailers who demand lower pricing for the products. Large retailing businesses sell the product to many users whereas internet marketers or retailers cover a broader region in terms of sales. All these customers opt for Better Place’s Auto’s product because of its convenient price and distribution. However, the demand for low pricing is a major threat for the company since raw materials and other production costs are too high in the car manufacturing industry. Threat from suppliers of raw materials As the trend of car fashions change from time to time, there is need for quality and modern products from the vehicle industry. Thus, for Better Place to maintain its position in the market, it should maintain its good relationship with suppliers since the prices of raw materials are fluctuating in the industry. This would enable the firm to acquire the relevant materials for its production at reasonable prices, or else, when the relationship is poor, the company would have some difficulty obtaining the raw materials for production. Threat from close substitutes Most likely, competitors who are coming up with similar products that are environmental friendly are a greater threat to Better Place. It is expected that all the products from the company would outplay products from other companies with unparalleled quality and uniqueness. A Company such as Honda Motors is among the oldest manufacturers in the car industry thus products from such company can pose a threat to the company’s products because of the famous name. Customers consider product differentiation since there are so many vehicles in the industry with the same features hence there is little threat from substitutes. 2. Scenario Planning Scenario planning enables a firm to describe what is ea sy and possible to attain over a specific time frame. It permits specification of particular objectives which are supposed to be attained in a sequence of both investment and implementation decisions. It therefore helps a firm to plan for the entire project regardless of the obstacles that might come along the way. The following steps are depicted in the Better Place plan: Identification of Stakeholders The company identified stakeholders whose interests were similar to the founders’

Media & the Dispora Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Media & the Dispora - Essay Example Georgiou in the article, â€Å"Identity, space and the media† argues that people through information can decide if to connect or to disconnect with certain individuals or communities in neighbourhoods or in faraway places (Georgiou 31). For example through media, a person living in California can learn of an opportunity in France, which is part of what they have always wished to do in their lifetime. The same media will help the person analyse other aspects that will make them comfortable in pursuing the opportunity. Such may be political environment of the place, Inflation, people friendliness, cost of living and the education system. Secondly, media avails information about politics and cultures of origin, place of settlement, diaspora individuals and groups. Beck argues that this can create critical proximity where they become aware that they are not just a product of their origin. In addition, they do not just belong to a single group, or located in a certain territory and this enables diaspora identity to be lived as multi positioned by symbolic and geographical spaces. Becky also argues that the high mobility as a result causes intermarriages in different countries and cultures, which becomes a gateway to globalisation in once life (Georgiou 31). Diaspora on the other hand has affected media through innovation. Daily interactions with people of different backgrounds, races and cultures have caused innovations in the media industry to cater for various needs of different societies. Reality unveiled through diaspora have helped understand it is not important what is inside a certain group, neither is continuity important but reinvention of limits where human beings find themselves in. therefore, a clear and deep understanding of spaces and diaspora are important in ensuring that people utilise these two constructs for economic, social, and other benefits. We conclude therefore that media and diaspora are inseparable and very

Biology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biology - Research Paper Example The genetic component occurs because of the combined effect of mutated genes. The environmental factor is the lack of vitamins particularly folate during early pregnancy. Checkpoints in a cell cycle are meant for the regulation for the proliferation of the cells. These checkpoints are basically present in the G1 and S phase of the cell cycle. The role of these checkpoints is to check for any DNA damage or other problem in the cell before proceeding in to the cell cycle. The reason behind this is to either correct the DNA damage or if it cannot be repaired to move the cell towards apoptosis. The tumor suppressor genes code for proteins which are involved in the repair of the damaged DNA in the cell cycle and initiation of apoptosis if the damaged DNA cannot be repaired to prevent the formation of abnormal cells. The proto-oncogenes act by stimulating the cell cycle by the formation of transcriptions factors which are responsible for the function of genes and by forming signal transducers which are responsible for the stimulus responsible for the initiation of the cell cycle. Signal transduction is involved in the passing of signals to the nucleus of the cell for essential processes which include replication and transcription. Signal transduction occurs by the binding of a molecule to a receptor which may be located on the cell membrane or within the cell. This molecule carries signals and activates the receptor and brings about changes in the cell by sending signals which may lead to transcription. Increased signal transduction can result from mutations in genes that code for systems involved in carrying out signal transduction. This can lead to cancer because if signal transduction increases, the cells replicate and transcribe at a higher rate and are not under the normal regulatory control. Children suffering from Down syndrome have very high chances of developing leukemia. Also patients who have leukemia along with Down syndrome have a

Discussion questions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Discussion questions - Coursework Example ather encourage employers to put selection system favoring women in the hiring process as an affirmative action in order to boost their participation in national building. This implies that the discrimination could be justified as a mechanism of smoothening out the employment sector on the basis of quotas and proportional presentation in the employment sector (Coral & Practising Law Institute, et al. 2009). Employment discrimination has often been responsible for enhanced equality in job placements especially in across Canada where inequality is highly integrated. However, discrimination is based upon diverse variables or grounds. Certain grounds are unacceptable while others are mutually accepted. In the Canadian province of Alberta, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited. In particular, either gay or lesbians facing discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation are prohibited from recourse via apt mechanisms laid down in the IRPA enabling them to subject their experiences of discrimination besides incapacitating them to uphold a legal remedy (Koral & Practising Law Institute, et al. 2009). A Canadian employer may justify the adverse implications of the procedure used in employment selection on several grounds. For instance, according to the Alberta Human Rights Act, there are exemptions to discrimination. This means that some grounds of discrimination are justifiable. In section 7 of the Act, an employer may be justified to discriminate if such discrimination is based on occupational requirement. Subsequently, section 11 justifies discrimination if such action is both ‘reasonable and permissible within the prevailing circumstances’ (Koral & Practising Law Institute, et al. 2009). In this regard, employer’s discriminatory practices demonstrate the fact that their standards do not contravene the law. To accommodate an individual to a point of undue hardship basically entails a provision under the Supreme Court of Canada

Outsourcing and Risks.Outsourced Software Products Essay

Outsourcing and Risks.Outsourced Software Products - Essay Example Companies generally opt for outsourcing to reduce production costs (i.e. outsource to a company that would develop the software in less cost), to access skilled labor force and knowledge expertise (i.e. when the in house employees do not have the essential domain knowledge and skills required for development and teaching costs would be too high and time consuming), to achieve on-time marketing (i.e. when the company cannot meet a deadline within the available time and resources) or to level workload (i.e. when the company cannot complete all tasks as per schedule). Although the service providing organizations offer outsourcing companies with opportunities towards stability, there are some basic challenges and risk involved in the various kinds of outsourcing means. When any of these services are taken from a company within the same geographical region, it refers to as domestic or onboard outsourcing; when acquired from neighbouring countries that are aware of the cultural status of o utsourcing company, it is called near-shore outsourcing and when the services are acquired from beyond national boundaries, it attributes to global or off-shore outsourcing. This document discusses a major common issue associated with these outsourcing means i.e. the maintenance of outsourced software. 2. Issues in Software Maintenance Software maintenance is usually the longest and most demanding phase in the software lifecycle model. New releases and upgrades make software outdated in no time. Therefore, software companies invest considerable resources in keeping the software in line with customers’ requirements even after the software is launched (Ahmed, 2006). For software maintenance, a company has two options; either to maintain it in-house which could induce a technical overhead or outsource the maintenance which imposes managerial overhead. Whether in-house or outsourced, when the various components of software are outsourced for development, the maintenance activitie s such as bug fixing, code maintenance, upgrades, hardware/software compatibility, testing, etc. becomes challenging. This is because the outsourced software could either be of fundamentally low quality or the associated documentation could be incomplete or poor. As a result of this, the contractor may have to invest extra budget in in-house maintenance of the developed product. For instance, a team would have to be arranged to reverse engineer the finished product and extract the missing details in the documentation or attain its better comprehension. In case of upgrades, its effects in the working of various components would have to be retested. Or the contractor could avoid the hassle and outsource the maintenance task by paying some extra. Both ways the objective of outsourcing which is to save cost is somewhat compromised in the maintenance (Earl, 1996). Secondly, if various components of the software are outsourced to different parties then in case any problem is found in the software product, none of the parties would take complete responsibility of the association of the problem to their developed component. And therefore, troubleshooting problems would get further complicated (Ahmed, 2006). Even besides testing, verifying and validating the software on test data, it could happen that the software shows different results when installed in the actual environment. In that case, the software maintenance crew (in-house or outsourced) would have to take over as the purchase would already have been made from the vendor. In case of poor documentation and low quality code, the maintenance team would be placed in a critical situation as the