Monday, September 30, 2019

Steroid Pros and Cons

The effects of steroid use has been widely documented, especially in the past couple of years with all the high profiled athletes subjecting themselves to a tainted legacy because of the need to keep there competitive edge while there skills where slowly diminishing with age. Sending shock waves through the sports world and fans feeling disappointed and confused, athletes have been slowly coming out In the public eye for their past and current steroid abuse. These athletes have been emotionally distressed and this I imagine is extremely hard to adapt to and handle.But what bout the physical demographer bodies are enduring with these powerful anabolic drugs? This Is where a lot of different pollens come In to play, between the so-called experts and the self proclaimed experts. The so called experts being doctors and self proclaimed experts being â€Å"JUICERS† In the bodybuilding world. Some people would say â€Å"_Well look, he Is a doctor he must be right† _ and I woul d say that I rather take advice after a bad break up from a friend with the same experience than a happily married radio show love expert telling me what Is politically correct.But It Is very arid to argue science, which leads me to read up on many different articles from the other side. Rick Collins a writer for littleness. Com had a interesting article in 1999, that stated how the public was fooled by the physicians into thinking that steroids was not a performance enhancer and did not make people stronger. He then went on to say that congress, was more worried about making competitive sports pure and not so much on the actual health of steroid users. This being his own belief (not fact) says to me that he might be right.The United States of America has a way of gnashing athletes who use these drugs as criminals with huge penalties. This makes Rick Collins argument strong. Something that I also found pretty interesting was that the same physicians who said in the sass's that stero ids did not enhance ones performance retreated form that theory in the sass's. This left a bad taste in the sports communities mouths and made Doctors not look so bright. Where the physicians believed to be credible sources anymore? A majority of the sports and bodybuilding community said yes, they should be credible but Just not when it came to steroids.There is a large population of steroid users that believe the â€Å"JUICE† had a positive impact on their life. These feelings probably came from people who did the drug in proper dosages. But like anything, too much can be unhealthy. Example tanning, alcohol, sleeping and so on. What I feel bothers America about steroids Is not so much the health risks. Turn on a TV and flick through the channels. I would say you can probably come across something to do with steroids, but how much you want to bet It will be about a sports figure. Do the same thing on the Internet, Google steroids. Bet you won't get a story of a death due to steroids.Is It because there arena any stones on everyday people and steroids. No. I'm sure there Is someone who Is suffering from side effects from steroids. But who cares? It's truly about Integrity of competition. And I believe It Is truly blown out of proportion. I am so sick of seeing these ball players getting smashed through the media, getting critiqued on every little thing they say and do. When the concerns are not about health In the news It Is always about an athlete who â€Å"Cheated† -Always drama, I feel like newspapers and articles on two writers sitting on the other side of the fence on this topic.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Types of Aphasia

Aphasia is a communication disorder. It's a result of damage or injury to language parts of the brain. And it's more common in older adults, particularly those who have had a stroke. Aphasia gets in the way of a person's ability to use or understand words. Aphasia does not impair the person's intelligence. People who have aphasia may have difficulty speaking and finding the â€Å"right† words to complete their thoughts. They may also have problems understanding conversation, reading and comprehending written words, writing words, and using numbers.What Causes Aphasia? Aphasia may also be caused by a brain tumor, brain infection, or dementia such as Alzheimer's disease. In some cases, aphasia is a symptom of epilepsy or other neurological disorder. What Are the Types of Aphasia? Expressive aphasia (non-fluent): With expressive aphasia, the person knows what he or she wants to say yet has difficulty communicating it to others. It doesn't matter whether the person is trying to sa y or write what he or she is trying to communicate.Receptive aphasia (fluent): With receptive aphasia, the person can hear a voice or read the print, but may not understand the meaning of the message. Oftentimes, someone with receptive aphasia takes language literally. Their own speech may be disturbed because they do not understand their own language. Anomic aphasia. With anomic aphasia, the person has word-finding difficulties. This is called anomia. Because of the difficulties, the person struggles to find the right words for speaking and writing.Global aphasia. This is the most severe type of aphasia. It is often seen right after someone has a stroke. With global aphasia, the person has difficulty speaking and understanding words. In addition, the person is unable to read or write. Primary progressive aphasia. Primary progressive aphasia is a rare disorder where people slowly lose their ability to talk, read, write, and comprehend what they hear in conversation over a period of time. With a stroke, aphasia may improve with proper therapy.There is no treatment to reverse primary progressive aphasia. People with primary progressive aphasia are able to communicate in ways other than speech. For instance, they might use gestures. And many benefit from a combination of speech therapy and medications. What Are the Symptoms of Aphasia? The main symptoms of aphasia include: Trouble speaking Struggling with finding the appropriate term or word Using strange or inappropriate words in conversation

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Business Proposal Outline Essay Example for Free

Business Proposal Outline Essay This is a summary that can answer the question: what kind or type of business am I in? You must be able to answer this with a one sentence answer that summarizes everything you’ll do. You’ll use this as a tag line when meeting business people as you market your business or as an introductorily statement presented to a lender. Structure Define your business as a Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, C Corporation, S Corporation or Limited Liability Corporation. To accomplish this will require the skills and expense of a good attorney specializing in small business. You’ll need bios and resumes on your principal team players, including details of their experience, education, noteworthy achievements and why you’ll think they will be an asset. Employees How many and how will you hire them? What qualifications are you looking for? Will you outsource? What about compensations, benefits, workman’s comp insurance or health plans? Finances & Accounting In house or subcontracted? Computerized? What software will you need? You’ll need a proforma profit and loss statement with income and profit projections forecasted out three years. What kind of a balance sheet method will you use? You’ll need three-year projections of assets and cash-flow. Will you outsource for expertise in this area? Who can you hire and who can recommend reliable professionals? How much will a qualified CPA cost you a year? What services will he/she provide? Technology What are your needs? How will you use your equipment and in what aspects of your business? What file databases are you going to maintain? How much power do you need to maintain these? Can you option for online vendors or do you have to install an in-house system,? What about IT? Outsourced or hired? What is you budget for upgrades of equipment and software? Will you be doing graphics and promotional materials design in-house or outsourced? What about spyware, malware and virus protections? More Than An Afterthought Writing a business plan that is comprehensive will require a lot of work and thought. But once it’s done, you’ll have a tool that can breathe and grow as your business grows. A successful business plan template will be divided into sections allowing the reader an easy interpretation of what your goals are and how you plan to achieve them. It should include the following: †¢Cover Sheet. Includes the name of the new business and the principals involved. †¢Table of Contents. Easily divides the plan into different sections and allows for easy navigating. †¢Executive Summary and Mission Statement. Introduces the business idea, summarizes the ideas and goals and what you intend to accomplish. †¢Start-Up Costs and Operations. Lists all the details of the items and costs required to get started as well as the operating costs once the business has opened its doors. This includes all expenses such as rent, supplies, administration, equipment and employees. †¢Marketing Plan. Your strategy for advertising and other methods of gaining clients. †¢Revenue Projection. Your financial forecast over a period of several years. †¢Appendix. Business Proposal Outline. (2016, Dec 09).

Friday, September 27, 2019

Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Research Proposal Example This was the main traditional method of removing microorganisms from the hand prior to a surgical procedure. The norm was using antimicrobial soap and water to wash hands with chlorhexidine and iodine. The more recent is hand rubbing, which is the preparation of hand using the alcohol hand rub. The alcohol is rubbed to the hand to inactivate microorganisms and temporarily suppress their growth. The preparation used contains a mixture of alcohol and chlorhexidine gluconate. The traditional surgical hand asepsis was mainly done by using povidone iodine or chloerhexine based detergents. More recently, alcohol hand rub has been introduced to replace the traditional hand scrubbing using povidone iodine. Its introduction has been successful in has it has shown greater effectiveness, lesser irritation as compared to the traditional method and requiring less time to wash hands. The replacement of the traditional hand scrub with alcohol hand rub has been evident in some institution continental Europe while other countries such as Singapore has maintained the use of hand scrubbing. Despite the effectiveness of alcohol hand rub, studies have indicated lack of trust among the health care providers in the efficacy of alcohol hand rub over the additional hand scrubbing. This has made many health care providers across the world to continue using the traditional hand scrubbing instead of alcohol hand rubbing. Confirmation of the efficacy of the surgical hand rubbing over the traditional hand scrubbing will therefore help to convince the health care providers to use the surgical hand rubbing technique instead of the traditional surgical hand scrubbing. The increase in use of alcohol based hand rubs have resulted to a number of trial studies that compares the efficacy of alcohol hand rub against the traditional hand scrubbing using povidione iodine before surgery. Current evidence regarding surgical hand antisepsis stipulates that alcohol hand rubs

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Can we apply Hobbes argument about the state of nature to Essay

Can we apply Hobbes argument about the state of nature to international relations - Essay Example In this regard, the state of nature considers men to be in a competition with each other for resources that include food, for example. As a result, they tend to distrust and fear one another thus instigating a pre-emptive attack due to the quest to maximise their own interests at the expense of other people. On the other hand, difference, emanates from the desire for natural equality and the fear factor that eventually leads to war. On this note, the state of nature suggests that, the alternative option for removing the contributory factors to conflict is to embrace the state by surrendering sovereignty to the Leviathan in order to enjoy security and order. According to Hobbes, the international sphere exists in a form of the state of nature (1985, p.37). This paper explores whether Hobbes argument about the state of nature can apply to international relations. While international relations emphasises a peaceful co-existence between sovereign states, the Hobbesian view focuses on the defensive character of states. This makes it difficult to apply the Hobbesian argument in international relations because; it discards the moral principles that guide the relations among states. Hobbes advances five conditions for the state of nature that includes equality, competition, and the existence of two types of people, non- universal egoism and uncertainty. With regard to equality, Hobbesian view reiterates that people possess almost equal mental and physical capabilities. As a result, those regarded as weak also have enough power either mental or physical to destroy the strongest. The competition caused by scarcity of resources also creates a situation where everyone grapples for the same unlimited resources. The Hobbesian view further associates the scarce resource with power since not everyone can amass power. In this sense, power is often a preserve for a few individuals in the society who tend to maximise it for their own self-interest (Hampton, 1987,

Management Portfolio in Civil Engineering Essay

Management Portfolio in Civil Engineering - Essay Example Civil Engineering Projects are executed to achieve specific objectives that are the cause & means of socio-economical & environmental changes. Thus the project management of a civil engineering project need to play the role of social change agents comprising of immense managerial qualities like being futuristic, resilient, optimistic, tenacious, committed, passionate, patient, emotionally intelligent, assertive, persuasive, empathetic, ethical, competent, experienced, etc. In the role of change Agentry the project management should be able to: Every project brings with it a number of challenges - materials management, supply chain management, labour management, storage management, health & safety management, environment management, waste management, delivery management, quality management, legal & statutory management, Risk Management costing management and financials management. In nutshell, the entire civil engineering project requires a wide management portfolio to take care of all these aspects of management and such that the project can be successfully taken to completion. This paper critically examines the essentials of such a Management Portfolio and its application in a Civil Engineering Infrastructure Project. Health, Safety and Environment Management In a large Civil Engineering Infrastructure project, the issues & risks pertaining to health, safety and environment are required to be managed effectively. The global guidelines followed are in line with the recommendations on Safety & Health at Work & the Environment by International Labour Office (ILO-OSH), OHSAS 18001

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Meeting JCAHO Standards from Recruitment to Termination Term Paper

Meeting JCAHO Standards from Recruitment to Termination - Term Paper Example Meeting JCAHO Standards from Recruitment to Termination Job description works as the core foundation of a quality proficiency program and provides the first step in this process. The Joint Commission ensures that the hospitals and healthcare organizations should formulate a way to be sure of the candidates’ capabilities and qualifications are in accordance with their responsibilities. Job descriptions that are proficiency based are the key foundation stones for meeting these expectations. The leaders of the organization should define the required proficiency and the capabilities and qualification of the staff. A proficiency based job description is the first step to proficiency validation of the organization. It is however, required to include the basic roles and responsibilities, primary source verification, the qualifications and the population of patients to whom the treatments are to be delivered. It should also be mentioned in the job description if there is any need of physical expectations from the candidates, the working environment and any other additional duties that will be assigned. (Brenda G. Summers, 2001) The Joint Commission suggests that the basic responsibilities should be mentioned in the â€Å"Essential Duties and Responsibilities Section† of the job description. This kind of proficiency based validation requires that every employee should possess the capabilities as identified in the job description and performs adequately his basic duties. ... It also includes hiring only the individuals who are competent enough to qualify for your organization. (Brenda G. Summers, 2001) Following is an example of a job description which complies with the Joint commission Standards: Proficiency based Job Description Job Title: Department: Section: Unit of Operation: Reporting to: Approved by: Date of Approval: Mission Statement: Summary: Targeted Patient Age and Population. Essential Responsibilities Organization’s Compliance Responsibilities. Job Requirements Educational and/or experience requirements Legal

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Non-Profit Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Non-Profit Organizations - Essay Example In general, nonprofit organizations are a significant part of the society and strive for the betterment and development of society rather than as a business models. Usually, nonprofit organizations are categorized based on the beneficiaries of their organizations, which may include youth, senior citizens, disabled people, animals, environment etc. One such organization is the California Adolescent Health Collaborative (CAHC), a nonprofit organization focused on improving and supporting the adolescent health and well-being in California. Its office is head-quartered in Oakland, California. Like many other nonprofit organizations, CAHC is also a public-private state-wide partnership of individuals and organizations. CAHC had an inspiring start by a group of individuals after attending a conference in 1995 held to review states’ efforts to promote adolescent health. Adolescence is the most sensitive phase of human life because youth in this phase tend to adopt various patterns of behavior and attitudes about life, work, career, and other activities. During this phase, most of the adolescents tend to get driven towards risky behaviors and habits, which can turn out to be harmful during later years of life. Hence, adolescents have to be watched and guided at the right time and in the right manner so that they realize the importance of correct behavior and living. With this aim, CAHC was set up to address adolescents’ wellbeing, which was eventually supported by the California State Department in 2001. Currently, the Director Sandi Goldstein is assisted by four other members on the board. The CAHC is supported by about 15-member steering committee, each member associated with an external organization, like school, university, healthcare sector etc. These volunteers are appreciated and recognized for their contribution towards service deliver and achievement of the desired results. The directors on board are also volunteers that had come together for thi s common mission. The CAHC has received immense help and encouragement from various trusts and foundations like Lucile Packard Foundation and the State run MCAH Program. CAHC is funded by government grants and also receives some private philanthropy. The CAHC has a variety of goals and functions to support and promote adolescent health. For example, they help adolescents with issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, behavioral problems, injured and accident victims, homeless, malnutrition and physical health etc. They also provide care for adolescents that had been victims of relationship abuse, domestic and sexual abuse. The CAHC has been actively involved in providing sex education to teens, access to contraceptives, family PACT laws and policies to facilitate access to contraceptive information. In 2006, California ranked first in the US in overall efforts to help women avoid unintended pregnancy (CAHC, 2010). The CAHC’s efforts have also helped in reducing the number of sex ually transmitted diseases considerably. The size and scope of CAHC are very difficult to be determined. CAHC has a variety of goals and has included a variety of like-minded members into its group that want to serve for adolescent health. CAHC also works towards decreasing adolescent suicide rate. CAHC further aims to increase physical activity and

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The Public Debt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Public Debt - Essay Example As the paper declares a report issued in April, 2005, by the National Center for Children in Poverty, cites 40 percent of America’s children live in families with poverty level incomes. The Bush Administration, the report says, and Congress has called for dramatic cuts in a program that is already struggling to meet the needs of the low-income families currently on the program. The program, which received increased funding during the 1990s to facilitate the Welfare to Work goals, continued to turn away thousands of needy due to limited resources. Medicaid, a federally sponsored program that works in conjunction with state resources to provide healthcare to needy families, would also be dramatically cut as part of the existing proposals. This essay stresses that congressmen and women enjoy a great many perks at the public expense. According to the National Taxpayer’s Union Foundation, â€Å"Members elected in 1984 and thereafter pay 1.3 percent towards the pension and 6.2 percent to Social Security. This only compensates for about 1/5 of the typical lifetime benefit. We cover the rest as taxpayers.† Why should our lawmakers be held to a different standard than the people struggling to support them? The answer is, they should not, and they should contribute to the retirement and Social Security systems like any other worker in America. When we have lawmakers who routinely look to the elderly, impoverished and children to pay for the Public Debt, perhaps this time around, our cuts should begin with them.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Gabriel urbain faure And His requiem mass Essay Example for Free

Gabriel urbain faure And His requiem mass Essay â€Å"Gabriel Faure is regarded as the master of the French art song, or melodie. His works ranged from Classical, when in his early years he emulated the style of Haydn and Mendelssohn, to Romantic, and finally to an ascetic 20th century aesthetic† (â€Å"Gabriel Faure†). Gabriel Urbain Faure was born in 1845 in a town called Pamiers. It has been said that even at an early age, his potentials as a musician were already evident and noticeable. It was not given much attention by his parents, because at that time, they were in the belief that sending Faure to school to receive formal learning was of more importance. In fact, it was Faure’s teacher that noted his talents in music. Consequently, this teacher suggested to Faure’s parents that their child be sent to Paris to study in Niedermeyer, a religious music school. From the age of nine, Faure studied music at the Ecole Niedermeyer, the ‘Ecole de musique religieuse et classique’, where Saint-Saens was a member of staff. Saint-Saens had been lifelong friends with Faure and later said that he owed everything to him, introducing him not only to traditional music and composers such as Mozart and Bach but also to controversial composers such as Wagner whom he admired, but was one of few composers of his generation not to come under his influence and also Lizst. Saint-Saens encouraged and helped him to get his music published. From then on, he was able to meet and encounter different individuals who played major roles in the life of Faure. He served as an organist in one of the churches in Rennes. Then, in 1870, â€Å"the Franco-Prussian War broke out and Faure was enlisted into the First Regiment of the Imperial Light Infantry as a messenger† (Martin, â€Å"Gabriel Faure†). After the war, Faure was once again an organist, but in another church this time. When Saint-Saens retired in 1877 Faure took over his post as choirmaster. Faure would remain at the Madeleine for almost 20 years. He also taught composition at the Paris Conservatoire, becoming director in 1905, and his pupils included Maurice Ravel and Nadia Boulanger. Gabriel Faure’s Music A perusal of different accounts concerning the life and music of Gabriel Faure would show that he always strived to be different. For instance, in the field of music, regardless of how popular a type of music was, Faure will come in and try to change it, in order for the same to reflect his views and emotions; he wanted to be unique and different from the usual. The subtlety of Faure’s music, and his concentration on the small-scale, led many to criticise him for lacking depth, a judgement based on the mistaken premise that the bigger and bolder a composer’s music the more worthwhile it must be (Bawden J. â€Å"Gabriel Faure). As to what Faure found himself interested in in the field of music, it has been said that The majority of Faures piano music up to 1871 had mainly been romantic songs. Poems by Hugo, Gautier, and Baudelaire, had been recommended to him by his teachers. His early songs hint at his developing originality but were written in the strict classical style he had learned in school. It was characteristic of Faure, however, to constantly renew himself in his compositions. He always wanted to try something new, something different that no one else had done; and he never followed the fads of his day, prefering instead to follow his heart. Thus his songs show a continuous personal and unique evolution (Martin, â€Å"Gabriel Faure†). It is this courage of his to change things, however, that made him face certain setbacks in his career when he joined the Madeleine as its choirmaster. There are individuals in his field who were not in favor of the changes that Gabriel Faure was introducing into the system. As a choirmaster, Faure would always find himself in disagreement with members of the clergy. â€Å"The clergy were only concerned with keeping the congregation happy; and so their musical preferences were for popular, operatic-styled church music that was all the rage, rather than for enlightening religious music† (Martin, â€Å"Gabriel Faure†). Hence, it was quite difficult for Faure to introduce the changes that he wanted. As will be discussed further, Gabriel Faure’s most popular work which depicts his love for uniqueness is his Requiem Mass, which totally differs from the traditional Requiem. In fact, In Armand Vivets book on French sacred music he wrote of the first performance, Immediately the ceremony was over. The vicar called Faure into the sacristy and questioned him as follows: What was that mass for the dead youve just conducted? It was a requiem of my own composition. Monsieur Faure, we dont need all these novelties; the Madeleines repertoire is quite rich enough, just content yourself with that. Family and Marriage Gabriel Faure was once engaged to Marianne Viadot. In 1877, Faure asked for Marianne’s hand in marriage. It took quite a while, but eventually, the lady gave a positive response to the proposal posted by the bachelor. The problem was Marianne kept on postponing the date of their wedding, and â€Å"this continued delay was more than Faure could handle and he complained vehemently. Marianne used his outburst of frustration as an excuse to break off their engagement for good† (Martin, â€Å"Gabriel Faure†). True, the failed engagement to Marianne Viardot made Gabriel Faure sad and depressed, but later on, he would find himself recovering from this hurdle and agreeing to his friend, Marguerite Baugnies’ suggestion of being in an arranged marriage. Mme. Baugnies found three possible young ladies who belonged to the artistic world: the daughters of Octave Feuillet and George Feydeau who were both writers; and the daughter of Emmanuel Fremiet, a well-known sculptor of the day. Unable to make up his mind, Faure hastily wrote the names down on slips of paper, placed them in a hat, and randomly picked Marie Fremiet, daughter of the sculptor. After a brief engagement, the wedding took place on March 27th, 1883 in Paris. (Martin, â€Å"Gabriel Faure†). In 1883 Faure married Marie Fremiet, with whom he had two sons. In order to support his family Faure spent most of his time in organising daily services at the Eglise de la Madeleine and teaching piano and harmony lessons. He only had time to compose during the summers. He earned almost no money from his compositions because his publisher bought them, copyright and all, for 50 francs each. During this period Gabriel Faure wrote several large scale works, in addition to many piano pieces and songs, but he destroyed many of them after a few performances, only retaining a few movements in order to re-use motives(â€Å"Gabriel Faure†). It could be his unique way of choosing his bride that led to an unhappy marriage. Later on, he would find out that he didn’t really share much in common with his wife. They talked less and grew apart despite being gifted with two children. In an account by Martin, she said that the couple would write each other letters to communicate even both of them were in one and the same city. The Latter Part of Faure’s Life â€Å"The last two decades of Gabriel Faures life were marked by his steady rise to fame, his increasing health problems, and the new love in his life. After serving as choirmaster for nineteen years, he became organist at the Madeleine in 1896. In the same year he also became Professor of Composition at the Paris Conservatoire† (Martin, â€Å"Gabriel Faure†). After his stint as organist, he joined the Paris Conservatoire as its director. It could be said that his success would have continued further, if not for the health problems that Faure had been experiencing. In 1902, Faure was having problems with is hearing. Martin would say that this problem was hereditary as Faure’s brother also had the same problem. His hearing problem, however, was not an obstacle to his finding another chance to love again. The output of Faure had greatly reduced because of his responsibilities at the conservatoire combined with his loss of hearing . during the World War I, he remained in France and retired from the Conservatoire at the age of 75. in the same year he received the Grand-Croix of the Legion d’Honneur, an honor rare for a musician. â€Å"In 1900 at the premiere of Promethee, Faure met and fell in love with Marguerite Hasselmans. She was born in 1876 and even though Faure was the same age as her father, nevertheless, they stayed together until the end of his life in 1924† (Martin, â€Å"Gabriel Faure†). Gabriel Faure died in Paris from pneumonia in 1924. He was given a state funeral at the Eglise de la Madeleine and is buried in the Cimetiere de Passy in Paris (â€Å"Gabriel Faure†). Legacy as a Composer and Music Teacher Aside from his numerous musical masterpieces described as elegant, introspective and intimate, Faure made an enormous mark on his younger contemporaries as an influential teacher and mentor. One of his students, Nadia Boulanger, herself known arguably as the greatest classical music teacher of all-time, is an achievement enough. Among other distinguished composition students are Ravel, Koechlin and Enescu (â€Å"Gabriel Faure†). â€Å"Although he wrote several works involving a full orchestra, his particular talent lay within the more intimate musical forms – songs, piano music and chamber music. His somewhat austere style and highly individual, impressionistic harmonic language contrasts markedly with the music of the Austro-German tradition which dominated European music from the time of Beethoven until well into the twentieth century†(Bawden, â€Å"Requiem†). â€Å"Gabriel Faure served as inspiration for crafting flexibility into their works. As performers, teachers, talented administrators, and church musicians they understood the fine art of composing pearls with limited forces which could then be jeweled for the concert hall† (McCauley M. , â€Å"Requiem†). The Requiem Mass of Faure â€Å"The Requiem flourished during the Renaissance period, despite during the 14th century when the Roman church limited the amount of times the Requiem was performed and of what chants it consisted† (Green, â€Å"The Requiem Mass†). As earlier pointed out, Faure’s love for trying out new things is best mirrored in his Requiem Mass. His Requiem Mass is different from the traditional Requiem being played in the chapels and churches and that time. â€Å"By the time of the first performance, on January 16 1888, there were five movements: an Introit and Kyrie, the Sanctus, Pie Jesu, Agnus Dei, and In Paradisum. To perform the work, Faure called for a mixed choir with divided tenors and basses, a soprano soloist, an orchestra of low strings (violas, cellos, and double basses), harp, timpani, and organ, with a violin solo in the Sanctus. He added an Offertoire in 1889, and added a setting of the Libera Me that he had written for baritone and organ some twelve years earlier. He added horns, trumpets, and trombones to the orchestra, and a baritone soloist, and this version was first performed at the Madeleine in January of 1893† (â€Å"Chorale Music Notes†). Compared to the Missa pro defunctis, Faure changed portions of the text in his setting of the Requiem Mass. In the Libera me and Offertory for example, he left out certain words or repeated others so that the movement became more musically balanced and the words more clearly heard. The Libera me and In Paradisum actually dont belong to the Missa pro defunctis but to the Office for the Dead. Libera me is the prayer for absolution which follows the Requiem Mass; and the In Paradisum is spoken outside the church at the moment of burial. The use of this last text in particular shows how much Faure wanted to break from tradition (Martin, â€Å"Gabriel Faure†). The most important feature of the Requiem mass is the reflection of the emotions and views of Faure towards the idea of death. Faure was recorded to have said My Requiem has been said to express no fear of death; it has been called a lullaby of death. But that is how I feel about death; a happy deliverance, a reaching for a happy deliverance, rather than a mournful passing Perhaps I have sought to depart from what is conventional because for so long I was organist at services of interment. Im fed up with that. I wanted to do something different (â€Å"Requiem-Gabriel Faure†). This kind of view made his Requiem lack the vibe of sadness and terror. In fact, some writers would say that there is a certain tone of sweetness in Faure’s Requiem, something that one cannot normally expect from any form of music associated with death. As confirmed by Bawden, †the prevailing mood is one of peacefulness and serenity, and the work has often been described, quite justly, as a Requiem without the Last Judgement† (â€Å"Requiem†). Faure originally designed this work to be functional for church services with appropriately conservative accompaniment: the organ supplemented by harp, tympani and strings generally omitting violins except in the Sanctus. The technique of backing off the violins for a more somber effect may have been an idea borrowed from Brahms (McCauley, â€Å"Requiem†). Besides numerous motets and a mass written for liturgical use, theres no question that Gabriel Faures best known choral work is the Messe de Requiem. Written between 1887 and 1890, the Requiem was written not for the death of his father, but as another experiment in Faures endless quest to write music that was new and different (â€Å"Requiem†). Despite the discouraging start, Faures Requiem did become popular during his lifetime and was played throughout Europe. Today it is still very popular and has been recorded more than any of his other works. REFERENCE Martin, S. â€Å" Gabriel Faure- A Biography†. http://w3. rz-berlin. mpg. de/cmp/faure. html Green, A. â€Å"The Requiem Mass† http://classicalmusic. about. com/od/classicalmusic101/a/requiemmass. htm â€Å"Online Guide to Requiem† http://requiemonline. tripod. com/ â€Å"Faure, Gabriel- Biography†. http://www. naxos. com/composerinfo/Gabriel_Faure/26049. htm â€Å"Requiem†. http://www. classiccat. net/faure_g/biography. htm â€Å"Gabriel Faure†. http://www. basicfamouspeople. com/index. php? aid=4340 Asiado, T. (2008). â€Å"Gabriel Faure Brief Biography†. http://great-teachers. suite101. com/article. cfm/gabriel_faure_brief_biography â€Å"Masses of Requiem†. http://www. newadvent. org/cathen/12776d. htm â€Å"Requiem†. http://requiemonline. tripod. com/history/masshistory. htm â€Å"Chorale Music Notes†. http://members. macconnect. com/users/j/jimbob/classical/Faure_Requiem. html â€Å"Gabriel Faure- Requiem†. http://www. beijingifc. org/index. php? option=com_contenttask=viewid=28Itemid=36 â€Å"Requiem†. http://www. orbilat. com/Encyclopaedia/R/Requiem. html Bawden, J. (2006). â€Å"Gabriel Faure- Requiem†. http://www. choirs. org. uk/prognotes/faure%20requiem. htm McCauley, M. â€Å"Requiem†. http://www. halway. com/mchorale/faure/program. html

Friday, September 20, 2019

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) Mutants

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) Mutants GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN (GFP) MUTANTS WITH ALTERED FLUORESCENCE INTENSITY AND EMMISSION SPECTRA Introduction: Now-a-days GFP is creating revolution in the field of science by its applications and properties.GFP is a stable protein extracted from the photo organs of the jellyfish Aequoria victoria by Shimomura et al in 1962. In 1992 the cloning of GFP has done. It is found in a variety of coelenterates (both hydrozoa and anthozoa) and it emits light by utilising energy from the Ca2+ activated photoprotein aequorin [1]. Energy transfer and the emission spectra of GFP can be affected by dimerization. Structure of GFP is cylindrical ÃŽ ²-can structure and has a chromophore located centrally. The chromophore is responsible for the fluorescence and the formation is independent of species but mainly depends on oxygen. GFP is a small protein and has been made up of 238 amino acids. Deletion of any seven amino acids either from C-terminus or N-terminus may result in the loss of fluorescence. Amino acid replacement is responsible for the change in colours of GFP. It has a molecular weight of 27 KDa an d has an absorption range at 488 nm and an emission range at 509 nm. It can accomplish high temperatures (65 ÌŠc) and basic PH range of 6-12 [2]. Increase in PH results in the decrease of fluorescence. Increase in the fluorescence and photo stability can be achieved by single point mutation at S65T. Fluorophore of the GFP is generated by using auto-catalytic process of continuous mechanisms. Visible excitation is one of the optical properties of GFP. Its derivatives are produced from the mutagenesis experiments like random and directed mutagenesis [3]. GFP is majorly used as a reporter in expressing genes. Protein and chromophore folding also constitutes as a major advantage of GFP. It can also be used in protein fusion by applying recombinant DNA technology. Aim of this research is to analyze properties of GFP by cloning, mutations, expression of proteins and purification. Objectives of this research are to sub-clone GFP into a vector and mutations are carried out by various mutagenesis experiments followed by expression of proteins and purification. Finally after purification properties are analyzed. Materials and methods: Initially DNA is isolated and GFPuv is sub-cloned into the pET28c vector from pET23 plasmid by speectrophotometric analysis. 5 µg of pET23GFPuv DNA is digested by using NdeI and HindIII restriction enzymes. And the digests are analysed by using Agarose gel electrophoresis. GFP fragment is extracted and purified using QIA quick gel extraction kit from QIAGEN and the recovered DNA is estimated. Recombinant protein is expressed in E.coli by ligation and transformation. To confirm the presence of GFP in the pET28c plasmid, colony PCR is used. Further mutagenesis experiments are carried out by designing oligonucleotide primers which will alter the spectral properties of the protein. Complementary primers containing same mutations are generated. Mutagenic primers are prepared with a melting temperature of ≠¥ 78 ºC, length between 25 and 45 bases and primers longer than 45 bases are generally used. Introduction and identification of mutations within GFPuv gene: Mutations are created in the GFPuv insert by site-directed mutagenesis Site-directed mutagenesis: 5 µl 10 x PCR buffer 5 µl 20 mM dNTP mixes 15 ng GFPuv-pET28c template DNA 125ng oligonucleotide primer F+ 125ng oligonucleotide primer R+ 2 µl 25mM MgSo4 32 µl sterile water 1 µl KOD hot start polymerase (1U/ µl) * All the above are added to 0.2ml PCR tubes and incubated in a PCR machine for 24 cycles: 94 ºC 30s 94 ºC 30s 55 ºC 1min 68 ºC 4min 20s 68 ºC 10 min * Reaction is then kept on ice for 2 min and 1 µl (1U) of Dpn1 is added and incubated for 60 min at 37 ºC Alignment of amino acid sequences is carried out using: http://www.ebi.ac.uk/Tools/clustalw2/index.html Product of site-directed mutagenesis (pET28c DNA) is transformed into XL-1 supercompetent cells. Transformed colonies are extracted using QIAprep Mini prep kit Qiagen [5]. Concentration and purity can be checked by using Agarose gel electrophoresis. For this 5 µl of plasmid preparation and 10U HindIII are digested at 37 ºC for 1h. Sequencing is then carried out by using 10 µl of DNA at a concentration of 50ng/ µl. E.coli BL21 (DE3) cells are prepared and are transformed into the pET28cGFPuv plasmid for expression Auto-induction method: Wild type protein (GFPuv) and the mutant protein are expressed in the expression vector [BL21 (DE3)] using auto-induction method. For this transformed colonies are inoculated into 3ml of LB-1D + antibiotic media and incubated at 37 ºC at 300 RPM for 6 hrs and O.D is taken. Inoculum is taken into the flask containing SB-5052 auto-induction medium along with antibiotic and incubated at 28 ºC at 300 RPM for 20 hrs. Cultures are then cooled for 1 hr. Total induced sample is prepared by taking 100 µl of cooling culture and 900 µl of SB-5052 media. Cells are then pelletized by centrifuging it with both total induced and non-induced samples and are resuspended in 100 µl of SDS-PAGE (sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(PAGE)) sample buffer. 12% of polyacrylamide gel is prepared and the Soluble and insoluble samples are prepared by cell fractionation using BUGBUSTER. For this 1 µl of DNAase1 is used along with reagents. Cell suspension is then centrifuged at 13000rpm for 20mins. Supernatant is then used as soluble sample and insoluble is prepared by resuspending the pellet in 2ml binding buffer. SDS-PAGE buffer and binding buffer are added to the soluble and insoluble fractions. At 95 ºC all samples are heated for 5 min. Gel is then loaded as: Molecular weight standard-5 µl Uninduced sample 5 µl Induced total sample 5 µl Soluble sample 5 µl Gel has to run for 1 hr. And is transfered to a box of Coomassie blue stain. Western blotting: GFP protein presence can be verified using western blotting technique. Protein samples are first seperated by SDS-PAGE and are transferred to the nitrocellulose membrane. GFP bound to nitrocellulose membrane is then visualised by incubating the blot with His-probe which is linked to a HRP (horse radish peroxidase) enzyme (HisprobeTM-HRP solution is diluted to 1:5000 (1 µl in 5ml) ). His-tag of GFP protein is bound to probe. Blots are kept in TBST and probes and thus probes are visualised by chemiluminescence and these are photographed by chemiluminescent reader. Ni-NTA chromatography: His tagged GFP can be purified by Ni-NTA (nickel nitrilo triacetic acid) chromatography method. In this, sample of soluble protein is loaded on column packed agarose resin and the non-specific protein binding is removed by washing resin with buffer and is eluted by high concentrated imidazole of elution buffer. After elution the purification of protein is done by SDS-PAGE and Coomassie staining. The concentration of the protein is measured by Bradford assay. Fluorimetry and mass spectrometry: Properties of GFPuv protein are analysed by Fluorimetry and mass spectroscopy. Fluorimetry: In this wavelength and intensity of a molecule at specific wavelength are measured using fluorimeters. Perkin Elmer LS50B is the fluorimeter used to measure GFP. Quartz cuvettes are placed in a chamber to measure the concentration and intensity. The parameters set to measure GFP are: Excitation 440nm Emission 460-550nm Slit widths 4 and 4 Accumulation 5 20 µg/ml of protein concentration is used. The emission and excitor wavelengths are set at 509nm and 395nm. Mass spectrometry: GFPuv properties and molecular mass can be analysed by mass spectroscopy. The type of mass spectroscopy used here is electron spray ionization (ESI). ESI is a type of atmospheric pressure ionisation technique (API) which is used for biochemical analysis. JEOL HX110/HX110A equipped with electron ion source tandem mass spectrometers are used to analyse structural properties [7]. 1-10 pmol/ µl of protein concentration is used. Solvents used are: MeOH MeCN TFA During ionisation sample is dissolved in a solvent and is pumped through a steel capillary at a rate of 1 µl/min and voltage of 3 or 4KV is applied [8]. Ion current is amplified by the detector and the data system will record signals in the form of mass spectrum. RESULTS: Site-directed mutagenesis: Primers used for site directed mutagenesis (Mutant) Forward primer: 5-CACTTGTCACTACTTTCTCTTGGGGTGTTCAATGCTTTTCC-3 Reverse primer: 5-GGAAAAGCATTGAACACCCCAAGAGAAAGTAGTGACAAGTG-3 Alignment of the amino acid sequence of the mutant with the GFPuv amino acid sequence GFPuv MSKGEELFTGVVPILVELDGDVNGHKFSVSGEGEGDATYGKLTLKFICTTGKLPVPWPTL 60 mGFPuv MSKGEELFTGVVPILVELDGDVNGHKFSVSGEGEGDATYGKLTLKFICTTGKLPVPWPTL 60 ************************************************************ GFPuv VTTFSYGVQCFSRYPDHMKRHDFFKSAMPEGYVQERTISFKDDGNYKTRAEVKFEGDTLV 120 mGFPuv VTTFSWGVQCFSRYPDHMKRHDFFKSAMPEGYVQERTISFKDDGNYKTRAEVKFEGDTLV 120 *****:****************************************************** Y66W GFPuv NRIELKGIDFKEDGNILGHKLEYNYNSHNVYITADKQKNGIKANFKIRHNIEDGSVQLAD 180 mGFPuv NRIELKGIDFKEDGNILGHKLEYNYNSHNVYITADKQKNGIKANFKIRHNIEDGSVQLAD 180 ************************************************************ GFPuv HYQQNTPIGDGPVLLPDNHYLSTQSALSKDPNEKRDHMVLLEFVTAAGITHGMDELYK- 238 mGFPuv HYQQNTPIGDGPVLLPDNHYLSTQSALSKDPNEKRDHMVLLEFVTAAGITHGMDELYK- 238 ********************************************************** Amino acid substitution: Y66W Belongs to Class 5, indole in chromophore (cyan fluorescent proteins) [6] eCFP CATATGAGTAAAGGAGAAGAACTTTTCACTGGAGTTGTCCCAATTCTTGTTGAATTAGAT 60 GFP ATGAGTAAAGGAGAAGAACTTTTCACTGGAGTTGTCCCAATTCTTGTTGAATTAGAT 57 ********************************************************* eCFP GGTGATGTTAATGGGCACAAATTTTCTGTCAGTGGAGAGGGTGAAGGTGATGCAACATAC 120 GFP GGTGATGTTAATGGGCACAAATTTTCTGTCAGTGGAGAGGGTGAAGGTGATGCAACATAC 117 ************************************************************ eCFP GGAAAACTTACCCTTAAATTTATTTGCACTACTGGAAAACTACCTGTTCCATGGCCAACA 180 GFP GGAAAACTTACCCTTAAATTTATTTGCACTACTGGAAAACTACCTGTTCCATGGCCAACA 177 ************************************************************ eCFP CTTGTCACTACTTTCTCTTGGGGTGTTCAATGCTTTTCCCGTTATCCGGATCACATGAAA 240 GFP CTTGTCACTACTTTCTCTTATGGTGTTCAATGCTTTTCCCGTTATCCGGATCATATGAAA 237 ******************* ******************************** ****** Mutation eCFP CGGCATGACTTTTTCAAGAGTGCCATGCCCGAAGGTTATGTACAGGAACGCACTATATCT 300 GFP CGGCATGACTTTTTCAAGAGTGCCATGCCCGAAGGTTATGTACAGGAACGCACTATATCT 297 ************************************************************ eCFP TTCAAAGATGACGGGAACTACAAGACGCGTGCTGAAGTCAAGTTTGAAGGTGATACCCTT 360 GFP TTCAAAGATGACGGGAACTACAAGACGCGTGCTGAAGTCAAGTTTGAAGGTGATACCCTT 357 ************************************************************ eCFP GTTAATCGTATCGAGTTAAAAGGTATTGATTTTAAAGAAGATGGAAACATTCTCGGACAC 420 GFP GTTAATCGTATCGAGTTAAAAGGTATTGATTTTAAAGAAGATGGAAACATTCTCGGACAC 417 ************************************************************ eCFP AAACTCGAGTACAACTATAACTCACACAATGTATACATCACGGCAGACAAACAAAAGAAT 480 GFP AAACTCGAGTACAACTATAACTCACACAATGTATACATCACGGCAGACAAACAAAAGAAT 477 ************************************************************ eCFP GGAATCAAAGCT 492 GFP GGAATCAAAGCTAACTTCAAAATTCGCCACAACATTGAAGATGGATCCGTTCAACTAGCA 537 ************ eCFP GFP GACCATTATCAACAAAATACTCCAATTGGCGATGGCCCTGTCCTTTTACCAGACAACCAT 597 eCFP GFP TACCTGTCGACACAATCTGCCCTTTCGAAAGATCCCAACGAAAAGCGTGACCACATGGTC 657 eCFP GFP CTTCTTGAGTTTGTAACTGCTGCTGGGATTACACATGGCATGGATGAGCTCTACAAATAA 717 SDS-PAGE : Coomassie staining gel of (Sample 6): Marker GFP protein (soluble sample) Western blotting (Sample 11): Induced total sample GFP protein Ni-NTA chromatography: Fluorimetry: Mass spectrometry: Wild-type: Mutant: Discussion: Site-directed mutagenesis: In the site-directed mutagenesis mutation is carried out at the right place i.e., at 197 and 198 places. Tyrosine (TAT) is mutated to tryptophan (TGG), Y W. During this mutation protein undergoes many changes especially in the fluorescence. GFP turns into CFP (Cyan fluorescent protein) hence the light emitted will not be exactly green. CFP will have many peculiar features like rather than single excitation and emission peaks it possess double humping. Tag CFP possess some properties like: Structure monomer Molecular weight 27KDa Polypeptide length 239aa Fluorescence colour Cyan Maximum excitation 458nm Maximum emission 480nm Excitation coefficient 37000M-1 cm-1 Pka 4.7 Quantum yield 0.57 Brightness 21.1 Brightness is produced by the quantum yield and extinction coefficient. Dual colour visualisation of the protein expressed is enabled by the CFP. This has led to the Fluorescence Resonance Energy Development (FRET). SDS-PAGE: SDS-PAGE is carried out to separate proteins according to their electrophoretic mobility and experimental repeats will result in the purity assessment of the protein. Four wells are loaded with samples and 2 and 4 wells show protein result and as 1 and 3 wells dont contain protein they will be normal without any bands. Results shows that little amount of GFP has been observed in the insoluble and large amount of protein has been observed in the soluble sample. Uninduced sample cannot find GFP. Western-blotting: Western-blot is performed to make sure the presence of protein. Histidine tagged probe is added to confirm the protein present was GFP or not. pET28c plasmid contains T7 RNA polymerase promoter sequence. But this promoter is blocked by the repressor. Hence lactose containing medium is required for E.coli growth. Because lactose is used as carbon source, glucose is converted into allolactose. This allolactose will bind to repressor by unblocking promoter, and expresses GFP. Hence presence of glucose will result in Lac-I and is binds to the operator. Band observed in the blot is probably GFP and it has high level of intensity after induction. And it is necessary to confirm this by performing blotting technique using His probe to detect His tagged GFP. Bands are observed in the induced and soluble samples after performing western blotting confirming the presence of GFP. Ni-NTA chromatography: Purification of GFP can be done by Ni-NTA chromatography. For a recombinant protein the amino acid binding site with 6 or more His residues in a row acts as metal binding site. So hexa-his sequence is called as His-tag. His-tag sequence is present in the N-terminal of the target protein and is located in the promoter region adjacently to the GFP gene. During this process enzyme HRP is also bound to the probe. This HRP-probe will react with luminal 4 peroxidase buffer which is further used for purifying GFP by Ni-NTA chromatography. Purification by His-tagged GFP can be done by using several methods like Ni2+-poly (2 acetomidoacrylic acid) hydrogel. Displacement of GFP can be done by binding nickel to imidazole. This is mainly because of high affinity of nickel towards imidazole compared to GFP.Distinctive bands are supposed to observe in the elute1, elute 2 and also in the total soluble fraction. Bands formed states the presence of the GFP mutant. Absence of the bands states mutant a bsence. In the results bands are observed at the total induced and the soluble samples which state the protein presence. Even small amounts of bands are also observed in the insoluble sample. GFP protein produced in the induced total sample is approximately at 27KDa. Slight bands are observed in the insoluble sample as it may be because of some impurities. Finally the GFP protein has been detected. References: 1. Davenport D, Nichol JAC: Luminescence in Hydromedusae. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B 1955, 144:399-411 2. Ward. W., Prentice, H., Roth, A. Cody. C. and Reeeves.S.1982.Spectral perturbations of the Aequoria green fluorescent protein. Photochem. Photobiol. 35:803-808 3. Cormack, B. P., Valdivia, R. H., Falkow, S. (1996). FACS-optimized mutants of the green fluorescent protein (GFP). Gene, In press 4. Darelle Thomson , Greg Smith. (2001).PCR-based plasmid vector construction for generation of recombinant viruses. Journal of Virological Methods 94, 7-14 5. Vogelstein, B., and Gillespie, D. (1979) Preparative and analytical purification of DNA from agarose. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 76, 615-619. 6. HEIM, R., PRASHER, D. C. TSIEN, R. Y. 1994. Wavelength Mutations and Posttranslational Autoxidation of Green Fluorescent Protein. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 91, 12501-12504. 7. HARUKI NIWA, SATOSHI INOUYE et,al., Chemical nature of the light emitter of the Aequorea green fluorescent protein. Vol. 93, pp. 13617-13622, November 1996. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 8. â€Å"Mass Spectrometry: A Foundation Course†, K. Downard, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK, 2004.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Amateur City Essay -- Literary Analysis, Katherine Foster

Amateur City, a city filled with confusion and intolerable human behavior. In this detective fiction novel, Katherine Forrest demonstrates the social, sexual and power dynamic of each character which all leads to the curious homicide of Fergus Parker. In Forrest’s Amateur City there are multiple analysis regarding the characters of the â€Å"Modern Office† also including the detective Kate Delafield. Amateur City portrays a huge hierarchy of the predominant human society in which the class of race, ethnicity and gender are all divided in the image of Forrest’s characters. The social, sexual and power dynamic of the â€Å"Modern Office† provides a powerful message in Forrest’s Amateur City, which clearly magnifies the realistic and true nature of humanity. This essay will stress upon the representive of Forrest’s characters relating to the modern world. The characters in Forrest’s Amateur City are redundantly interesting. Some of the most appealing characters are Ellen O’Neil and Kate Delafield. As a lesbian, Kate is very conservation among herself. â€Å"The detective in charge, she seems very good at her work, very tough and capable†, this here was mention by Ellen at her first impression of Kate; Forrest previews of how Kate’s image can reveal a powerful message about her personality (Forrest 60). Kate does not show much of her mysterious secret such as her homosexual interest in Forrest’s novel, not until her private encounter with Ellen. In the novel, Kate has a shield which protects her from exposing her sex interest and identity. That shield is the discernment and awareness of publicizing Kate’s personal emotions and authenticity in public. On the other hand, Ellen is portrayed as a more-like and typical lesbian who isn’t afraid of publ... ...ican women of today’s modern world. The significant of Forrest’s â€Å"Modern Office† is the development of her characters. Forrest is clearly promoting the genuine characteristics of the people living among us today by using characters from the Modern Office. Within each of these characters, Ellen, Kate, Gretchen, Gail and Fred, Forrest has allowed her audience to experience the realism. That realism is the diversity of the sex gender behavior among males and females, the knowledge of modern human behavior. Forrest did an excellent job of showing the difference of various female attitudes and the focus of racism in Amateur City. The corruption relating to the homicide of Fergus Parker is caused by the all these key characteristics. The represented social, sexual and power dynamic of the â€Å"Modern Office† reflect the positive and negative effect of today’s modern world.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Voting :: Politics Political

Voting Voting is when a group of people makes a decision on a subject that concerns them as a whole. In many countries, people vote to choose their leaders and to decide public issues. People also vote to make decisions in such groups as juries, labor unions, corporations, and social clubs. There are many different ways of voting and counting votes. No single voting method is either universally applicable or the best overall. Some major voting methods are majority rules, plurality wins, elimination and runoffs, sequential pairwise comparisons, various weighted or scoring schemes, approval voting, and a host of various other partitioning schemes that choose successively between subsets of potential outcomes. The three ways of counting votes are Plurality, Condorcet, and Borda count. In the Plurality method of voting, the candidate with the most votes wins. It is not necessary to have the majority. Strategic or insincere voting is not uncommon when a group knows the distribution of potential votes in advance. Lets say there are 3 choices to vote on, a, b, and c. If c knows that they have the least amount of votes, they will vote for the one that they definitely do not want to win. Group c does not want a to win so everyone votes for b so a doesn’t win over b. When everyone votes for exactly who they want to win, that is called sincere voting. In order to make sure that the ultimate decision receives a majority vote, it may be necessary to resort to a runoff election, or to some other type of sequential voting. This is a procedure that requires a majority vote at each step. A candidate who wins over every other candidate in a head to head ballot is called a condorcet winner. Many elections ask for a preference schedule of everything. This is to arrive at a final group rank ordering of all the contestants that best express the desires of the electorate. You can also vote insincerely in this method also by changing the order of your preference schedule.. A Borda count assigns points in a descending manner to the way each voter put the choices in order and sums them up to come up with the most popular ranking.

Essay --

The beauty halo effect is the principle that people with good looking are going to have a better life. According to the beauty halo effect, attractive people are automatically attributed with more qualities than unattractive people, they are attributed a notion of talent and are considered as more socially attractable and desirable. This paper is going to define more precisely what the beauty halo effect is. Then it will define what impression formation is and how the attractiveness halo effect can affect the first impression. Finally it will briefly explain what impression management, and finally explain the role of the beauty halo effect in impression formation and management. The beauty halo effect has become a strong phenomenon in social psychology nowadays. The beauty halo effect can also be called â€Å"the physical attractiveness† stereotype and the â€Å"what is beautiful is good† principle (Lewis-Beck, Bryman and Liao, 2004). The halo effect makes reference to the tendency of people to better rate attractive people for their personality traits than the individuals that are qualified less attractive (Lewis-Beck, Bryman and Liao, 2004). The psychologist Edward Thorndike first wrote about the halo effect phenomenon in his paper The Constant Error in Psychological Ratings in 1920. He noticed in his work that â€Å"ratings were apparently affected by the tendency to think of a person in general as rather good or rather inferior and to color the judgments of the qualities by this general feelings† (Lachman and Bass, 2001). The halo effects explain the fact that early aspects influence the interpretation of later aspects (Forgas, 2011) . Since the first definition of the halo effects made by Thorndike in 1920, this concept has been the subject... ...mpression that others create on them, that is why in order to reach their wanted outcomes individuals will manage their presentation. In any interaction they have with others, people are concerned with they way they are perceived by the other persons (Leary and Allen, 2011). When people want to make a positive first impression they automatically tend to present the aspects of their personality that are the most in accordance with the image they want to provide of themselves (Leary and Allen, 2011). For instance, if a woman has a meeting with her male boss, she may manage her image to look serious, friendly, gentle, humorous and attractive in order to be perceived as competent, hard worker and responsible by her male boss (Leary and Allen, 2011). As beauty halo effect influence a lot the impression formation, it also considerably influences the impression management.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Appendix D

Associate Program Material Appendix D Selecting a Topic and Brainstorming Worksheet Complete the following and post as an attachment. |List two objects, people, subjects, or concepts you are going to | | |compare and/or contrast. | | | |Hamburgers,French fries, Milk shakes | |What are the similarities between the two objects, people, |They’re both fresh.They’re both fast food. | |subjects, or concepts? List as many similarities as you can. | | |What are the differences between the two objects, people, |Burger king has onion rings and frozen slushy’s. | |subjects, or concepts? List as many differences as you can. | | |Are you going to focus on similarities, differences, or both? | | |Explain your rationale. Im going to do both because they are both good resturaunts but I | | |prefer certain items from both resturaunts. | | | | |What do you want your readers to learn and understand after |After reading my essay I want you to learn the healthy foods from| | reading your essay? What is the purpose of your essay? the bad foods at the resturauns and the different services you | | |receive. | | | | | | | |What three or four parallel points of comparison and/or contrast |The neatness of the sandwhiches. The grease they use to cook | |will you address in your essay? For example, if you were going to|their foods.The customer service you receive. The score from the| |compare and contrast two teachers, your parallel points might be |inspectors for their cleaness. | |each teacher’s homework policy, classroom conduct policy, and | | |demeanor. | | |Explain why this is an appropriate and workable topic selection | | |for the final assignment. Because there are so many different things in the fast food | | |business some people are filthy and people actually are eating | | |the foods they don’t really take the time to research the | | |background of where there meats are coming from if they are | | |processed or what. | | | Reflect on what you learned in Ceridwen Dovey’s video. Write a 100- to 150-word paragraph describing how your own writing process is changing as you complete the activities in this course. My own process is changing because I am getting a lot of good advice from the videos and my fellow classmates.They are giving such great ideas on how to write a good paper. I think that my writing is going to be good because I have a lot of good methods that I’ve always used like brainstorming and clustering and I think that those methods on top of the ones I’ve learned from the videos and classmates is going to give me the capability of writing a perfect paper that is in sequence order with the subject and each paragraph will stick to the topic and not jump to a different subject.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Should Compulsory Military Service Be Abolished?

Should compulsory military service be abolished ? (ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY) The problem of compulsory military service has always been a controversial issue. Some people strongly support this idea while others are definitely against it. Although it has been claimed that the military service should be compulsory because of its benefits to governments, compulsory military service shouldn’t be abolished because of its limitations to citizens. It is commonly maintained that compulsory military service affects government’s economy in positive way, yet military service is cheaper than mandotary in long-term.Supporters of compulsory military service believe that mandotary military service is a must for countries to develop their economy. The choices of developing countries could be a good example for benefits of compulsory military service. Developing countries mostly prefer compulsory military service to grow their economy. Portugal is one of the these countries. Since Portugal m oved on to free military service there is a rapidly increase in civilian wages. However United States shows that countries can have both powerful economy and strong military power despite using free military service.According to Chapman, the cost of a volunteer is more expensive than full-time soldiers. (2002) Another argument widely claimed against abolishing compulsory military service is based on the assumption that young people could improve themselves physically and psychologically, pn the other hand it may cause harmful consequences on many sensitive young men. Proponents of compulsory military service claim that personality of young men would be developed during military service.They think that military service would make young men disciplined and principled. Laar stated â€Å"During the course of compulsory military service, a number of skills required for civilian life are acquired. † (2011) According to Kelty, Kleykamp and Segal, military service is an experience th at turns youth to adults. (2010) Nevertheless, compulsory military service may cause permanent problems in young people’s character and their lives. Forcing sensitive young men to strict the rules may lead to terrible damage to their psyche or even suicide.Citizens aren’t free to choose how they live in the countries using mandotary military service. They would be forced to something against their plans and they can’t live their lives how they wish. Other frequently heard arguments in support of compulsory military service is its necessity to protect national security against threats, yet it is unnecessary to maintain large armies because the strength of the country doesn’t depend on the manpower of an army; it is related to skills and knowledge of experts who are specially educated.A common claim is that compulsory military service is necessary to protect national security against threats. They think that the increased number of soldiers helps to fight a gainst terrorizm. It can frighten enemies to have a great number of soldiers. However, maintaining large permanent armies is not essential in our age because technology is developed. Nucleer weapons are one of the high-tech weapons and they can be operated by a small force.Professional soldiers are specially educated to operate complicated missles of an intercontinental range so the number of the soldiers is not so important. For exapmle Turkey is one of the countries that have increased number of soldiers but they can’t eliminate terrorizm in many years. In conclusion, best opinion would be forming smaller professional armies consisting of young men who like military life and who can easily adopt to hard conditions. Everyone should be granted freedom of choice and not forced to do something against his plans or nature.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Effects Drugs Have on Urban Communities

{draw:rect} Did most urban communities start out as nice as most suburban communities are today? Yes, they did. The government built subsidized housing complexes for low income households; today they are called â€Å"the projects† or the ghetto. These communities have been run down over the years by vandalism, and crime, most of these criminal activities that take place in these urban communities are drug related. Even though drugs can be bought out of any community, the urban communities are the most effected by drug activities. Drugs are destroying the urban communities. Children can buy drugs off almost every street corner and most of the youth in the urban communities are or have been in jail for drug sales. {draw:frame} Crime rates have gone up in urban communities because of drug activities. Every day an article can be read in the newspaper about crimes in urban communities. Most of these crimes are drug related. The drug dealers that are on the streets get busted for selling drugs almost every day and charged with sale charges and possession charges. Police departments set up sting operations to catch these dealers in the act. Addicts are arrested daily as well. They get caught with drugs they have purchased and receive possession charges. Drug dealers often rob each other for their supply,which results in breaking and entering charges, burglary charges, and sometimes even murder charges. Addicts tend to steal and rob to support their habit and usually get caught and arrested for these crimes. Drug addicts will rob stores, strangers in the street, even family members to get money for their drugs. That is not the only crimes addict commit. While under the influence of drugs some people commit acts they normally would not do, such as killing, stealing, or driving which could result in people getting hurt. They get high and do things without thinking. With all these problems in the urban communities, it becomes difficult to sell property at its book value. It becomes an undesirable place to live. People who are looking for reasonable priced housing get discouraged because of the environment that surrounds these houses. Nobody wants to live in these areas with all the drug related crimes and drug activities that go on. These issues cause the property values to go down in urban communities. Below is a bar graph to show the difference in property values between urban communities and suburban communities. Average Property Values {draw:frame} Even though drugs can be bought out of any community, the urban communities are the most effected by drug activities. Drugs are destroying the urban communities. Children can buy drugs off almost every street corner and most of the youth in the urban communities are or have been in jail for drug sales. I think if the public paid more attention or cared a little more about the drug related problems that are over powering our urban communities, these communities can be taken back from the criminals that have run them down so bad that they are so obsolete in the government’s eyes. Then maybe instead of spending thousands of dollars into communities that don’t really need it, that money could get put to good use in an urban community that really needs improvement. Hernandez, R. (2010). VCStar. com. Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group. Retrieved from http://www. cstar. com/news/2010/feb/09/suspect-went-on-drug-related-crime-spree-tells/ Jonathan Butler. (2004). BROWNSTONER. Retrieved from http://www,brownstoner. com National Drug Intelligence Center. (January 1, 2006. ). National Drug Intelligence Center. Retrieved from http://www. justice. gov/ndic/pubs5/5140/index. htm Secretary of the Publications Board. (2010). United nations. Retrieved from http://www. un. org/esa/so cdev/poverty/subpages/iyephab. htm The world bank group. (2010). Urban poverty. Retrieved from http://: http://go. worldbank. org/QH7WZFCPK0

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Continental Airlines: Flying High with Its Data Warehouse

The airline industry is a competitive market in which some airlines are profitable while others are not. During the late 1990s, most airlines were lucrative because fuel costs were relatively low and travel was at an all time high amongst flyers. Recently, the airline industry has taken a severe hit due to the increased rate of oil, the 9/11 attacks, and anti-traffic control system to name a few. However, Continental Airlines remains one of the largest airlines in the United States holding its rank in fourth place amongst other airline companies.Initially, Continental Airlines was not highly regarded because of its information technology (IT) and organizational culture. Unlike other airline companies, Continental Airlines has taken extreme measures by adopting new strategies to overhaul its IT department altogether. The information systems Continental had in place was old and outdated because it did not provide information of its most valuable customers. The Transaction Processing Fa cility (TPF) was the old IBM mainframe system Continental’s IT team had during the late 1990s. The system was not designed for customer service.In order for Continental to accomplish its goals, the IT team realized the need to replace its old mainframe. The IT team determined it needed to integrate into one system by consolidating the airline’s disparate customer management relationship (CRM) systems. As a result, Continental joined forces with Teradata to build an enterprise data warehouse comprised of 25 enterprise systems. The warehouses consist of â€Å"schedules, reservations, customer profiles and demographics, airline maintenance records and schedules, employee and crew payroll, and customer care† (Rainer & Turban, 2008, p.132).Additionally, executives of Continental Airlines were able to develop the Customer Value Metric (CVM), which enables them to determine how much money customers spend with its airlines and the costs of flying the customer as well. T he data warehouse is a repository of historical data that assist with business operations to include â€Å"data mining, decision support, and querying applications† (Rainer & Turban, 2008, p. 117). Many components make up the data warehouse such as business dimensions in which data is organized by customers, vendors, product, price level, and region.The data in various databases are encoded differently and kept historically for many years. Once data enters the warehouse it is not updated. Databases use online transaction processing (OLTP), in which business transactions are processed online as they occur. Typically, data warehouses are designed to support decision makers by using online analytical processing (OLAP) for the analysis of mass data by end users. Data is stored in a multidimensional structure as well. All data in the data warehouse comes from Continental Airlines operational databases which can be relational databases as well.These components enable users access t o corporate data for analyzing. Special software such as extract, transform, and load (ETL) are used to process data to later store in a data warehouse. However, only a summary of data is transferred to the warehouse. This data is organized in a form that is easy for end users when accessing. The reason why Continental Airlines remains successful is due to their strategies for improving and enhancing quality customer service with many functions implemented by their IT team.Continental Airlines main focus is increasing customer rewards and incentives of frequent flyers that are loyal customers, while gaining new customers that are profitable too. Continental Airlines contributes its success to the quality customer service and customer satisfaction it provides by expanding its routes and serving meals on every flight. Some airline companies have gone bankrupt while others simply choose not to improve their quality of customer service. As a result, customers have become irritated due t o the lack of reasonable rates, delays, and strict rules of other airline companies.In closing, information technology is essential for airline companies. Some airline companies may choose to stick with basic airline technology. However, an airline company can enhance its level of customer service and profitability based on the type of changes it needs to make. Executives of an airline company can look to its IT department to strategize ways to utilize information systems that best fits its goals, business practices, mission statement, customer service, and customer satisfaction.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Invent a term that defines a personality type (such as soccer mom or Essay

Invent a term that defines a personality type (such as soccer mom or helicopter parent) - Essay Example It is based upon 2 different words -- a sponge and a kid. A sponge is a highly absorbent material that seems to keep on taking everything that is given to it without ever giving anything back. A kid is a child who is solely reliant in his parents for his existence. In the case of a Sponge Kid, I define that person to be over the age of 18, still living with his parents, without any regular source of income, and still receiving an allowance from his parents. Normally, an American child is considered to be capable of earning his own income and providing for his needs such as food and housing by the time that he or she turns the legal age of 18. There was a time when the children of that age automatically moved out because they went to college out of state and therefore had to fend for themselves. But times have gotten tougher for everyone and parents can no longer afford to help pay their child's tuition fee if the child opts to attend college out of state. In such situations, the now young adult child finds himself attending either a community college or a vocational school. He or she is no longer required to move out of the house due to the proximity of their parent's residence to their educational institution. Additionally. the money that the parents save on tuition fees trickles down to the child who now continues to receive an allowance from his parents. Giving the child the idea that he does not have to work nor help pay for the expenses around the house. Time was when a child could continue to live in his parent's house only if he agreed to pay some small token of rent at the very least upon turning 18. Parents no longer expect that of their kids these days because of the current economic climate in the country. I have a cousin who is now 21 and still jobless. As far as we all know, he had managed to complete a business degree at the local community college but he has yet to put his theoretical know-how to actual use. He still lives in the same house with his parents, in the same bedroom that he has occupied since the day that they brought him home from the hospital. Every time he is asked why he still does not have a job, he simply replies, â€Å"The economy just doesn't have any job to offer right now. It's not like I am not looking.† Not that he is to blame for his situation. His parents have not helped him become a more mature and responsible individual by their actions either. They have cuddled him and provided for all his needs without question. They claim to understand that he needs time to â€Å"get his groove† and â€Å"find that perfect job†. By supporting all his needs from a bed to sleep on, to the money in his pocket, they have helped create the perfect sponge child. A child who takes and takes from his parents without ever feeling the need to provide for himself nor reciprocate the act of kindness and financial help that his parents extend towards him because they â€Å"understand his situationâ₠¬ . A Sponge Kid is not to be confused with a Boomerang kid who actually leaves his parents home but finds himself returning to the family home due to certain financial difficulties. Boomerang Kids actually have lives independent of their parents and some of them, like in the case of my sibling, return home to save on money but actually contribute financially to the household in whatever capacity they can. In other words,

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Our Town Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Our Town - Essay Example The organizing of acts around the stages of life and reality brings out this theme. This paper primarily focuses on describing how the theme of how humankind does not appreciate the present is brought out in the play. The first act, of the play, depicts the everyday life of people living in a fictional small town, in New Hampshire. Normal people, their daily routines, family relationships and times of growing up, characterize the act. It depicts Gibbs and Webb’s childhood experiences, and how they grown in the same town and became neighbours. The narrator gives a vivid description of the town, houses and people living there, by saying, â€Å"We all know that something is eternal. And it is not houses and it is not names, and it is not earth, and it is not even the stars† (Wilder 15). He further says, â€Å"Everybody knows in their bones that something is eternal and that something has to do with human beings. All the greatest people ever lived have been telling us that for five thousand years and yet you would be surprised how people are always losing hold of it† (Wilder 15). This excerpt describes how the narrator of the play gives a clear picture of the theme that even the many years, Mother Nature is still eternal, but human perception of it will never change. Wilder, in another quote, says â€Å"do any human beings ever realise life while they live it?†(Wilder 23), which also describes the main theme of the play.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Climate Anomalies for a Particular Region Essay

Climate Anomalies for a Particular Region - Essay Example The waves are disturbed by two forcing, namely, Orographic forcing and Thermal forcing. Orographic forcing, more relevant in northern hemisphere owing to dominating surface topography with Rocky Mountain and Tibetan plateau, relates to planetary waves generated due to the compression and expansion of air columns, leading to vortex stretching which can be balanced by the vorticity advection (Dickinson, 1978). Thermal forcing, varying with seasonal change in thermal effect, relates to generation of planetary waves by the adiabatic heating and cooling due to rising and sinking air motions; this maybe balanced by temperature advection (Ashe, 1987). In the subsequent paragraphs we shall examine climate anomalies for a particular region in the context of the large scale hemispheric wave pattern with a multiple objective to firstly, convert temperature and precipitation data, obtained from the Plymouth University Portal, into appropriate graphs, secondly, discuss and compare the seasons wit h reference to the hemispheric flow and lastly, discuss the possible reason for the variation in the temperature and precipitation on temporal and spatial scales. Examination of the climate anomalies involved collection of temperature and precipitati... This was followed by statistical analysis of the data which included determination of mean temperature and standard deviation for the four regions. The monthly hemispheric charts were plotted with the help of NOAA's Climate Diagnostics Centre following the link, http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/cdc/dtat.ncep.reanalysis.derived.html. Following steps are required for obtaining the plot:- When the above link opens Click on 'Pressure level Data'. The page automatically moves down. Now click on the 'Geo-potential height'. This should open a new page, scroll down and Click on 'make plot (Monthly Mean)'. To improve the chart quality, adhere to following details:- Select latitude between 20 and 90N, Select 500 mb and Select suitable dates (from, to). Now, select 'Plot' on white background, Polar stereographic and Remove Colour Plot. Finally click on Create Plot. Figure 1: Map of Europe, Source: Praxis network, 2007 The results were obtained place-wise, for four different regions, for summer and winter seasons. All graphs show the average monthly temperature or precipitation during a season. The data has been taken from the following regions (also marked in Figure 1 above):- Station Elevation (m) Latitude Longitude Toulouse 152 43.60 N 1.40 E Edinburgh 41 55.95 N 3.35 W Alborg 13 57.10 N 9.87 E Helsinki 53 60.30 N 25.00 E Table 1: Region Coordinates Final Results Figure 2: shows the average summer temperature for the period 1951-1991 for all stations Toulouse The average summer temperature graph shows the average maximum temperatures recorded in Toulouse from 1951 to 1991. The highest average temperature of 21.9 C was recorded in Toulouse in the summer of 1990 while lowest

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Review of Hunters Point of Impact Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Review of Hunters Point of Impact - Essay Example Hunter does not focus on Bob’s loss, but rather he sees him as a hero. According to Hunter, â€Å"Bob was not an influential leader, did not save lives, did not rise in the chain of command, but he was an extraordinary killer.† (Hunter 12). In the description above Hunter acknowledge Bobs expertise, we also know he was among the best snipers of his time. According to Polk county Sheriff, Bob was a legend during his service time in the Vietnam War he was as one of the bravest heroes the United States ever produced. Although Bob may appear a broken man from the Vietnam War, it is evident that his expertise is of importance even to an agency like Ram Dyne. Hunters’ narration brings together intriguing characters, which adds to the suspense in the book. Hunter gives us a sniper, the FBI, the CIA and a secret organisation Ram Dyne. Ram Dyne is a secret organisation that identifies Bob as the best man for their assassination plot. The CIA and FBI are responsible for in vestigating the assassination case, but it is also evident that some of their officials have links with Ramdyne. Good versus evil is a theme well covered in the book it is clear this exist in government bodies where we have good agents and evil agents. For instance, Nick Memphis is a good FBI agent who tries to correct every foul deed such as when he accidentally shoots a hostage, Myra, in an operation he tries to make amends by marrying the hostage. We have Howard Utey, special assistant to the FBI director, who is not afraid of getting his hands dirty in the process of achieving his goals. For instance, Nick Memphis establishes makes an inquiry on the dealings of Ramdyne, but in the process of Utey suspends him from his duty claiming that Nick is violating the rules in the... Review of Hunter’s "Point of Impact" he story is of a Vietnam veteran sniper, Bob Lee Swagger. After the war Bob isolates himself from the society and lives a silent life in the mountains of Arkansas. The Ramdyne Company are aware of Bob’s expertise and plan to use this for their benefit. The Ram dyne company who claim to be seeking support in finding a potential assassin approaches Bob. The company convinces Bob to carry out one last mission for his country. Bob is unaware Ram Dyne sets him up for an assassination attempt on the president. Yet the real target in the assassination was the archbishop. Bob survives shots he gets during the operation, but he becomes a target of every law enforcement agency and Ramdyne’s own killers. Bob runs to save his life in order to prove his innocence. In the story Bob has allies Nick an FBI agent and a nurse, Susan Fenn, his old partners widow. Bob is out to revenge the betrayal and prove his innocence by unmasking the evil dealings of Ramdyne. Hunter’s protagoni st in the book is Bob Lee Swagger who we encounter in the mountain of Arkansas where he has adopted a solitary life. Hunter’s aim of making Bob a hero is successful. We have Bob as a character who isolates himself from society. However, Hunter’s creation of this character’s passion for guns is not in an effort to demonize the character, but to emphasise the character’s expertise. To Bob, guns are not just a tool to supplement his task, but he has a distinct connection with his guns and his sniper skills.

Monday, September 9, 2019

Ch 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ch 8 - Essay Example The United States policymakers face varied challenges of recognizing that the fundamental change in global politics and utilizing the supreme military power of America to fashion an international environment conducive to its interests. Moreover, globalization has contributed to varied changes not only to my lifestyle but also to my urban area. It has contributed to social conflicting issues especially through social media such as increased cyber bullying, cyber crimes and increased health related issues due to too much use of social media. It has also created effects on efficiency, production and competitiveness in production of commodities, as well as, increased unemployment levels with associated social impacts in urban areas. There are significant considerations taken when making decisions to migrate and this includes the need for employment opportunities, search for better working conditions, political considerations including a stable political climate and economic considerations. These aspects might differentially impact many people in different ways. First, an unemployed young Mexican will be impacted by these decisions in a manner that migrating to another new working environment may contribute to communication problems because of language barriers. Although many young people prefer migrating to new places in search for new pastures, many of them face varied issues due to spatial interaction problems. Secondly, a retired Midwestern farm couple will also be impacted because of locational attributes and other aspects. For instance, incomes of retirees vary from one location to another; thus the migration decisions coupled by job market conditions will impact them. Lastly, an unemployed heavy equipment operator might find it difficult to operate new equipment machine in anew working environment because of changes in technology. Sometimes, working rules differs from one working environment another and this

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Supermercados Disco Joining Up with Royal Ahold Case Study

Supermercados Disco Joining Up with Royal Ahold - Case Study Example It is also a growing market. The countries in consideration in Latin America are Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. These countries have fairly stable governments and political environment and it is possible to do business here on long term basis although the economic and geographical conditions vary from country to country. The immediate problem is future strategy. It is the course of action needed to increase profitability and market penetration in Latin America. There are several options before Supermercados Disco. However, the main options are whether the company should choose to go ahead with a joint venture with Royal Ahold or continue independently. Other than this problem, there are choices to do with pestel analysis. There was strong economic growth in the 1990s, making it vital for the political dispensation to frame policies to maintain the growth curve. Economic prosperity made it imperative for political factors to go along with economic parameters and shun despotic influences. Argentina and Brazil became the favored destinations for retailers in the 1990s. Argentina was favored because of its wealth and Brazil because of its purchasing power due to its large middle class population. Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela were roughly equal in terms of disposable income, but they had unequal distribution of wealth excluding up to 40% of these countries' populations from normal consumer activity. The region was projected to growth continually in the ensuing decades producing increase in the size of the working population. Due to foreign investments, there was also the fact that cities would grow disproportionately in size and wealth improving communications and infrastructure. These changes were bound to favor retailers. State-owned enterprises were thrown open for privatization. Most of the steel mills, chemical, petrochemical, shipping and aircraft companies were sold to private parties. Price controls were lifted in 1993. In Chile, tariffs were cut down from 75% in 1975 to just 11% currently. Social factors Improving economic conditions had an effect on social factors. In the six largest countries of Latin America viz. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Mexico, and Venezuela, the population was over 80% urban. Brazil faced the biggest social problems due to poverty and lack of education. The country had to resort to credit schemes to allow poorer members of society to buy consumer durables, food and clothing. Brazil has the sixth largest population in the world. Hence, although Brazil has good middle class population, she has her share of poverty problems. Other than the Brazil factor, social factors in other Latin American countries showed improvement financially. People had money to buy what they needed. Technological factors Attraction of foreign investment

Radiality as a Comprehensive Behavioral Model Essay

Radiality as a Comprehensive Behavioral Model - Essay Example The origins of the radiality as a foundational cultural model in the domain of spatial relationship may be traced to the island nation of Tonga (Bennardo 2009). Tongan language has only 3 linguistic representations of spatial relationships. This makes it a simpler study than languages with many more because correlation interpretation is reduced to fewer permutations. The concept of radiality impacts other realms of understanding within anthropology. It correlates with understandings of religious belief (Bennardo 2009). It explains theories about spatial navigation and material possessions. It also helps in our comprehension of kinship patterns. This method of interpretation contributes no less to our understanding of social relationships. It seems cognitive processes of language production and interpretation manifest in gross behavioral patterns. Methods of radiality modeling result in a broader understanding of social relationships with respect to language (Bennardo 2008). Looking for a cultural model of social relationships in Tongan, investigators collected linguistic, experimental, and social network data. They focused on the core concept of the model where 'Ofa is giving, either giving help from higher to lower or giving duty or respect from lower to higher. Surveys were formulated to study spatial linguistic correlations to cognitive beliefs. Three semi-structured interviews were used (Bennardo 2008). One was about how individuals perceive social relationships between others where participants answered questions about the existence and composition of groups in their village, their island, and country. Another was about individual personal relationships where participants answered questions about their relationships to other people in the village. Still, another was about indirect social relationships where participants told a story that occurred in their village that they thought represented village life. From 60 interviews of about 24 hours of audiovisual recordings verbal coders went to work. They conducted statistical analyses of words to uncover certain obviates. They applied methods of metaphor and keyword analysis to identify specific correlations (Bennardo 2008). Metaphor analysis included certain priorities: first to identify metaphors, second to sort them by type and identify key words, and third to locate organizational principles. Key word analysis included four words that appeared during the metaphor analyses: 'Ofa 'love'; Fatongia 'duty'; Kavenga 'lighter duty'; Faka'apa'apa 'respect.' The results of these tests yielded the following information about Tongan culture. Researchers found a number of relevant cognitive behavioral principles as a result of their statistical analysis. It seems society is hierarchical to the Tongans (Bennardo 2008). Individuals are located at different levels of the society's ladder. 'Ofa 'love' links these individuals to make them a whole. The king and elite are connected with the Divine as evident in the shininess of their bodies. This work has provided a greater understanding of language and relationships in Tongan society. How does radiality impact our understanding of social relationships It does so by providing a method of understanding for describing how language influences cognition and social behavior. Its pragmatic value is evident in its contributions to behavioral

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Oil ; gas Essay Example for Free

Oil ; gas Essay The economy is affected by many factors that determine if it is strong or weak. These factors have to do with buyers consuming goods and services and at what rate they do this. Do the goods and services that are consumed by people created wealth, jobs and a better overall economy for a country. Throughout history some economies have evolved faster and stronger than others. Policies that the government places on industry, technology and the environment can all affect the prosperity of an economy. Of the factors that affect economic growth the industry of Oil and gas is one that holds a stronghold in the worlds and Americas economy today. When evaluating the economic growth factor of economy and specifically oil and gas on must consider the following questions:  ¨ What relationship does the factor have with the whole economy?  ¨ How does this factor affect economic growth  ¨ Is the factor a cause or effect of economic growth?  ¨ what would the economy be like if there were significant problems with this factor?  ¨ What relation does a central bank have to this factor? I will answer each of these questions in respect to how economy is affected by oil and gas. The economy in the United States today is greatly affected by oil and gas. When there are large reserves and an increase of active drills in respect to oil, the economy seems to receive a boost. This is because prices for such things like gas and oil fall and people are able to consume more gas at a lower price. There is more supply and prices fall, therefore people save money on gas and can consume other items in the economy. People working in these industries have more job openings and more jobs filled, therefore creating a lower unemployment rate and a higher national per capita income. The need for substitutes are not there so, consumers will consume oil and gas at a growing rate. Since, people use oil and gas for so many different things like heating there homes, driving their cars, and a variety of other sources, the overall GNP for the consumer will rise. Economic growth is affected through significant fluctuations in inflation of oil and gas. If you look throughout history when there have been fluctuations in gas and oil prices you have vast fluctuations in the economy of our country. The instability of this factor has cause government regulation to come into play in times of crisis. For example during the mid-seventies we had the oil and  gas shortage due to the Middle East cutting off supply to Importers of their oil. By doing this, they caused a shortage in a lot of countries creating rising oil prices and high demand. Consumers could not rely on the oil prices to be stable, therefore they consumed less of other products due to the inflation of gas prices and more of their dollar began to be spent on gas. Americans particularly started to come up with more efficient means of using and consuming gas over the past 25 years. Oil and gas is a resource that can be used up if not conserved properly. That is why OPEC was formed, as well as organizations such as NAFTA to help regulate trade of these commodities and bring organization to a disorganized status. In addition, governments like the United States impose taxes on gas to regulated the prices in order to ward off against supplies of oil affecting the nations economy. This only works to an extent, in the early to mid-eighties one states economy lived and died by the supply of oil. That state was Texas. When Texass oil rigs began to dry up, their economy went into a recession. Their reliance on the oil supply as their main revenue producer caused a lot of people to lose their jobs and demand and consumption for other products fell as well. This caused a spiraling effect which caused people from all industries to lose their jobs. Texass economy suffered and so did parts of the American economy with High inflation and high debt which caused the economy to suffer. Increased regulation and diversification of a countrys resources can stop this from being the case. Countries representing OPEC all live and die by the constant production of oil. While this factor is used to stimulate their countries economic growth, it should be used to stimulate the building of a countrys infrastructure. Oil-rich countries should use the positive affect oil has had on their countries to build strong governments and consumer demand for other goods. This powerful infrastructure that could be built will give the economy stability and allow for a countrys GNP to grow in a slow, steady, and positive way. The building of a strong middle-class will allow for countrys to prosper for many years to come. Instead what has happened is that economies of these countries are in a state of flux. What I mean by this is that their economies are very unpredictable and unstable and their reliance on oil has made the disparity between the rich and the poor a gap that becomes too large to overcome. One prime example of this is Brazil, Brazil has large  reserves of oil in a very large country. Brazil is a developing nation and is very unstable when it comes to central governments. In the 70s and 80s Brazil made large amounts of oil from its reserves. Instead of investing the money made (from exporting oil) into their countries future, the leaders of that country used the money to make themselves rich and left the country in political and economic disarray. The middle class of Brazil became almost non-existent and their seem to be but two classes in that country. Those classes were the extremely rich and the extremely poor. The lack of infrastructure and consumer confidence in the economy due to the mishandling of oil profits lead to many political assassinations and increased crime rates throughout the country. It has taken and will continue to take Brazil years and years to recover from these economic crisiss , which all could have been avoided had Brazils government invested in its future. It is definitely true that an economy of a country can be vastly affected by the demand, consumption, and supply of oil. The affect that good supplies of oil has on a countrys economy is one that can only be measured in the sense that it is inevitable that they will be affected. As long as we drive cars that are fueled by gas and we use heat in the winter time, oil will always be a strong factor in determining the growth of a countries economy. In the United States, we have the strong infrastructure to adapt to problems that the instability of both the supply and demand of oil will cause. Countries need to look within themselves for managed growth in order to steady their economies if oil is what sparks their economy. A strong central bank and government will allow for funds to be invested in supporting the economy, the oil business, and consumerism. Once the infrastructure is set the shear reliance on oil will not be a factor, because the countrys economy will be able to handle the affect. When the day comes that oil wells ran dry and substitutes are needed the countries that will survive will be the ones that have braced themselves for the effect that this will have on their economy. Then these countries will adapt and overcome. Oil and gas should be used as helper of a countrys economy and not the passion by which it is run. The production of great income for a country and a higher GNP that oil production is something that should be able to benefit them for many years to come. If you look at the United States as a model you will see a country that handles oil with precision. When the oil industry is in a downturn, the  government can step in and regulate taxes and stimulate investment by having the central bank pump in funds that would not otherwise be used. When the oil industry is doing fine, the government can sit back and reap the prosperity of increases in employment and a rise in demand for oil. The prices will be lower for gas and oil, which means consumption will be up and the economy will be up too. Countries around the world can learn how to handle oil to the extent that it creates an agenda that the benefits far outweigh the costs. We know that oil and gas affects the economy and that it easily regulated by strong central government and bank. The infrastructure must be built up to manage growth. The leaders of the country should be committed to the development of the oil industry. Finally the consumers should be aware of how their role in the consumption of oil will affect the economy as a whole. When all parties are aware and committed to the prosperity of their country and to the industry then the consumption, supply, demand, profits, losses, and investment towards oil will be a mutually beneficial one for the country and its people.