Recession in American economy Essay

The economic meaning of the term recession is, â€Å"A period of economic decline in a Country, characterized by reduced trade and industrial activity, production decline and increased levels of unemployment. It normally lasts between one and two quarters consecutively†, (Tremblay; 2007). In the US, incidences of recession have occurred since 1854. This paper, seeks address the reasons for recession in the US, with reference to the principles of consumer behavior and the firm as a whole. Observers were not expecting an incidence of recession this time round. Most observers have been persuaded to expect moderate economic growth rates in the US, of about 2 to 3 percent and a moderate inflation of around 2 percent (George. S, 2008). This is due to the fact that the US economy has proved to be the most resilient in the world. They however (the observers), have good reasons to back their predictions; 1. They have placed their hopes on relatively stimulative monetary policy to keep consumption and investment spending up and expect the worst of the housing decline to be over. 2. With stock prices making new highs, some point out that presidential and stock market cycles are favorable to higher stock prices since investing during 27 months before a US presidential election has proved in the past to be more Profitable than investing during 21 months after elections. In the October 16th issue of Headwinds, 2007 for the US economy, it is explained that macro-economic conditions make it a matter of months before the US economy and the dollar begun to experience some downward pressure (recession). This is probably the time for this recession. The US is the country with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in the world, with a GDP of $13 trillion . This has however reduced in the recent past. Employment levels have also declined. Production levels have gone down owing to cut-throat competition from emerging world producers like China and other Asian Countries. An attempt by the households to save more from a given income led to the decrease in actual amount they succeeded to save-paradox of thrift, (Lachman, 2008). Different reasons can however be put forward to explain the causes of this recession; 1) The outgoing administration’s short term reaction that they gave the economy before the 2004 and 2006 elections through a combination of large tax cuts and large increase in military spending. This ended up being a waste as billions of dollars were spent on a futile war (Trembley, 2007) 2) Record budgetary and current account deficits have severely neutralized the federal monetary policy attitude, because interest rates cannot be reduced substantially for fear of a collapse of the US dollar from the federal budgetary deficits as they are being reigned on. (Lachman, 2008) 3) With all this taking place at the same time that the construction industry is in disarray and housing prices have tapered off or are declining. Be that as it may, it is important to note that home ownership is more widespread than stock ownership; slightly more than two thirds of Americans own their homes, while less than half own equities. The objective of the households is to maximize utility. By spending more on home ownership than on stocks, utility is attained quickly and it is within the consumers budget space (Ingdahl, 2008). 4) This rules the question of how long the American consumer will keep up the high pace of spending in such a context. During the years of the housing boom, consumer spending was driven by the accumulation of wealth and record consumer indebtedness, most of it in the form of mortgages as the price of houses increased. Now that the reverse is occurring and banks and other loaners are reclaiming property for unpaid debts, a retrenchment in consumer spending cannot be ruled out (Trembley, 2007). 5) Protectionist push from the Democrat controlled congress, risks putting in jeopardy the flow of capital of about $2 billion a day that the US economy is borrowing from abroad (mainly from China and Japan). Trade frictions between the US and China could force banks to raise interest rates and not lower them. In any case, the banks would not lower the interest rates as expected to make up for the housing crisis (Trembley, 2007). 6) Collapse of one and possibly several major financial institutions under the pressure of bad loans and record foreclosures (take possession of somebody’s property usually because they have not paid back an agreed part of the loan). Particularly at risk is the sum $2. 5 trillion mountain debt concentrated in sub primes and loans. One major sub prime lender, (New Century Financial) filed for bankruptcy protection. Others are likely to follow suite because 2007 was the year when a large number of sub prime real estate locus had to be renegotiated at higher interest rates. Foreclosures rate is bound to shoot upwards. This will culminate in the next few years into a financial hurricane (Trembley, 2007). 7) The seventh and final reason is a geopolitical factor. The outgoing US administration has created some tension between the US and some countries in the Middle East. The Middle East, is the world’s largest oil producing region. In the coming years, the world economy will have to adjust to a peak in oil production and higher prices after the current lull. Geoplitical mistakes made by the outgoing administration have turned the richest oil producing region into a hot war zone making the US economic situation disastrous (Lachman,2008). The above listed reasons shed some light on why the US economy could be undergoing some kind of recession. They however do not provide a conclusive explanation or reasons as to why the American economy could be in recession. Unlike other forecasts, one can only tell when recession started and ended after it has ended. The determination of recession is left to the National Bureau of Research (Campbell. R. M & Stanley. L. B, 2005). However, it is possible to tell whether or not the economy is in recession by looking at past cases of recession. The great depression was the worst economic slump ever in the U. S history. It began in 1929 and lasted for close to a decade. Just like a recession, many factors led to the great depression; however, the main cause for the great depression was a combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920’s and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the latter part of the same decade. Money was distributed disparately between the rich and the middle-class, between industry and agriculture within the United States, and between the U. S and Europe. This imbalance of wealth created an unstable economy. The excessive speculation in the late 1920’s kept the stock market artificially high, but eventually lead to large market crashes, (Gusmorino, 1996). Almost eighty years later, the U. S might be facing the same situation though not as severe as it was then. Wealth disparities are all over the world today. Although the worst cases are not experienced in America, cases of unequal distribution of wealth are still in America. As mentioned earlier, the American household does not invest much on stocks but in acquisition of homes. Speculations in the stock market are relatively high though not as high as it was then. It is not easy to conclude that the American economy is in recession. Whether or not there is a recession, depends on both on actual economic activity and economic analysis in the future. The facts as they are right now, show that the American economy is in recession. REFERENCES. Campbell, R. M. & Stanley, L. B. (2005). Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Gusmorino, P. A. (1996). Main causes of the Great Depression. Washington: Planet Press George, S. (2008). The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means. Chicago: Public Affairs. Furchgott, D. (2007). The Great Recession of 2008. New York: An over view of the US economy, (22) 9:31-35 Ingdahl, W. (2008). Global Financial Markets Want an Immediate, Bold, and Coordinated Policy Response. New York: London Press Lachman, D. (2008). What can global policymakers learn from the Swedish financial crisis of the early 1990s? Washington: US economic crisis, (31) 11:67-90. Trembley, R. (2007). A Slowdown or a Recession in the U. S. in 2008? Carlifonia: Global financial crisis, (14)6:101-143.

The Role of Technology in the Development of the United States in the 20th Century

In the past hundred years, it is no question that the advancement and development of the United States has grown exponentially. A great deal of this advancement has been due to the growth in technology that makes life easier, more efficient, and healthier. All of these things combined together, gowing in the 20th century, has made the United States one of the largest world powers and one of the most desirable places to live. There are some things, on the other hand, that technology has affected that really hinders not only the United States, but the planet as a whole.Most of these problems are environmental, which can be detrimental to the planet in the long run, despite the current outcomes. Practices including deforestation and over-fishing contribute to this. However, this technology, when compared to the good and the bad, has definitely left behind a positive mark behind it because of the obvious evidence that technology, such as automobiles, computers, and space exploration, hav e greatly impacted the present day America we are living in today. Today, in the 21st century of America, we are a thriving country, rich with technology.We live in a society where an automobile is almost a necessary factor through daily life because without a car or public transportation, most individuals would not be able to actually get to their job. The creation of the automobile has impacted the place we live so much because the citizens of the United States can work in jobs in a much larger radius from their home, which turns out to be very efficient for both the companies employing these people as well as the employee himself because he has more option for places to work, all because of the automobile.We also live in a society where computers are abundant, so much so that in almost all workplaces there are elements of computers and internet. Also, without these computers and information systems, there would be no online courses or universities for students to take. Online cou rses have had a very positive impact on our country because students can get an education with the ease and the comfort of their own home, all while maintaining a very low price. This makes enrolling in a university more attractive to someone on the fenceof going to university, so in the big picture we have more Americans learning at some kind of institution making our nation smarter and more advanced than it has ever been. This is all due to the growth in the automobile industry and the computer and information systems industry growing in the 20th century. Without these industries growth, our lives today would be very different. Some industries growths, however, will lead a very different outcome in the long run. Paper companies are using methods to chop down trees at a very large rate, in favor only of the paper industry.This is greatly hurting the planet because of the mass deforestation the paper companies are creating. These trees and forests are a necessity for daily life on e arth and without the forests, our future as humans on this earth will be a lot less thriving than the position we are in today. Another example is over-fishing in all bodies of water. Fish are a renewable resource , however, they need to time to reproduce and grow. Fisheries are capturing these sea creatures at such a rate that the fish are not able to fully recover from the over-fishing these companies have done.These two problems are very similar to each other and provides a common theme with the negatives of our new technological growth. The 20th century led our nation to this problem because we have just gotten carried away when it comes to the use of natural, renewable resources. We just have to remember that moderation is key, because with moderation, the trees will be able to grow back and recover from the deforestation and the fish will be able to reproduce at a greater rate. In closing, the pros of the technological growth of the 20th century greatly outweigh the cons.The c ons are a much easier problem to fix because the nations companies that deal with renewable resources just have to take these resources in moderation, otherwise these necessities for life will not be around for much longer. New technology, like the automobile and computers, instead of diminishing our country, have brought light and a new hope to our country, as well as the world because these industries are growing at an enormous rate because almost everyone in America as both a computer and a car.One of the biggest things that we have to look forward as a country is space travel which began in the 20th century when America put a man in orbit and the first man on the moon. The technology that got America to the moon has greatly affected the space technology we have today. It has influenced the 21st century buzz of putting a man on mars as well as warp drives. These are both very exciting things America has to look forward to and we can do that all thanks to the 20th century technolo gy.

Case study in Forensics - Ashley Coulston

Ashely Mervyn Coulston is known as the ‘Burwood triple murderer’ he murdered three innocent victims in cold blood on 29 July 19921. Coulston had gone to a Burwood house under the guise of renting a room in the house that had been ‘advertised in the Herald Sun’2. Coulston had a bag that contained a . 22 rifle, ammunition, a homemade silencer and plastic cable ties. Coulston bound, gagged and covered the victim’s heads (using a towel or dressing gown) and shot each in the back of the head at point blank range3. I will briefly outline the circumstances of the case and how the perpetrator – Coulston, was eventually captured and the evidence that flowed to convict him for the triple murders in Summit Road, Burwood. In this case study I will examine the forensic evidence (limited to the main ballistic evidence), that was presented in the criminal trials and the forensic evidence that was introduced by the prosecution. Background Coulston was caught by police not for the murders in Burwood but for an armed robbery that occurred several months after the murders in July. Coulston had approached a couple who were returning to their car parked near the National Gallery in St Kilda Road. Coulston was wearing a balaclava and carrying a . 22 calibre rifle when he approached the couple in their car4. The couple believed the assailant was after money; so they threw some money at Coulston hoping that he would leave5. Coulston grabbed the money and forced the couple from the car. He then forced the female to the ground and tied her hands with the cable ties. At that moment the male partner of the couple noticed that Coulston had placed the gun on the ground and he took the opportunity to grapple with Coulston, thus allowing the female to run. The male also fled, with both calling out for help. Two security officers near the scene heard screams for assistance, and subsequently called for police. Coulston followed the couple and fired shots at the security officers which hit one of the officer’s in the hip6. When police arrested Coulston they found a sawn off rifle, a homemade silencer that was made from a motor vehicle oil filter, a knife and plastic cable ties7. Forensic evidence The police forensics department found that the bullets recovered from the scene of the Burwood triple murders had come from the same gun used in the St Kilda armed robbery8. The police also found that the cream cable ties used on the female victim in the armed hold-up were the same brand as those used in in the Burwood murders9. Forensic evidence also established that blood splatter from a dressing gown found over the head of one of the Burwood victims was the same blood that had splattered onto the oil filter of the rifle, used as a silencer10. Police were also able to use the fingerprint of Coulston found on his Melways Street directory that marked the page of the Summit Road, Burwood triple murders11. These pieces of evidence were used to place Coulston as the prime suspect in relation to the three murders in Burwood12. In relation to the specific ballistic evidence; there was considerable debate over the possible contamination of the evidence by Senior Constable Ray Vincent – police forensic examiner. Mr Vincent appears to have incorrectly labelled a job card used to record the test firing of the rifle. The Court of Appeal was less than impressed with the defence’s proposition that due to the error there was a possibility that the bullets had been substituted to make it look like they had been fired from the . 22 Sterling rifle13. Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal dismissed the notion of the evidence being tampered with14. The prime evidence that was used to convict Coulston was the . 22 Sterling rifle he had in his possession, when he was arrested in relation to armed robbery and attempted murder of the security officers in St Kilda Road, Melbourne15. Specific Forensic Evidence There were several specific pieces of evidence that were found at the Burwood murder scene:16 1. There was no sign of forced entry; 2. That the flat was neat and tidy – not disturbed; 3. That the 3 victims had their hands bound with cream coloured tie straps and socks placed in their mouths; and, 4. One of the victims had a dressing gown placed over her head whilst the others had towels. 17 5. A Sterling . 22 rifle was one of a list of weapons that had similar rifling marks to two of the bullets used in the murders – one of the bullets was indistinguishable18. The Sterling rifle that Coulston used in the armed robbery was suspected to have been the weapon used in the Burwood murders19. The police forensic expert Senior Constable Ray Vincent was able to match the distinct impressions left on the bullet by the particular firearm, ‘much like a fingerprint’20. The firearm barrel is manufactured by using a type of drill (reamer) to cut the barrel so it has ‘spiral grooves cut into the inner surface of the barrel’21. The spiralling enables the bullet to spin and therefore maintain a more accurate trajectory22. When the ballistics expert inspects the bullet, he measures the spaces between the markings on the bullet called grooves and lands, and in particular if they twist either to the right or left23. Mr Vincent was able to count the number of grooves, their width and depth, together with the angle of the twist, and compiled a list of manufacturers that had similar rifling marks – one of those was a Sterling . 22 rifle24. Coulston’s defence tried to discredit the ballistic evidence given by Mr Vincent25. By indicating that: 1. 250 bullets had been test fired from the rifle to make a comparison; 2. the job card used to record the firings was incorrectly dated – it was dated August 1993 instead of August 1992; and, 3. the bullets used had been substituted at a later stage. In relation to point 1, His Honour Chief Justice Brenan responded by suggesting that ‘the rifling on these bullets fired at a stage before the burring on the front of the barrel might have changed the perspective of them’26. In essence His Honour was making the comment that the defence may be suggesting that after multiple firings of a weapon the profiling on the bullet may change indicting a possible error being made in the make of the firearm27. In relation to point 2, the defence proposed that the evidence may have been tainted by the fact that ‘something was wrong in the handwritten†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦addition to the document†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦which was a list of weapons having the same rifling characteristics as the weapon inferentially used in the murders’28. The defence was trying to put doubt in the jury’s mind by stating that the list of weapons noted by Vincent, that had the same markings as the murder weapon, was made after Coulston was arrested for the armed robbery in September 1992, noting that Coulston had one of the weapons on the list29. In relation to point 3, the defence stated that the rifling, that is the ‘characteristics of the weapon’ †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢used in the murders, was based on Vincent’s forensic examination of the bullets’. The bullets had †¦. ‘six lands and grooves with a right hand twist with the lands wider than the groove, land . 063 and groove . 048, Vincent prepared a list of rifles which possessed those characteristics. ’ ‘The list of rifles with those characteristics would therefore identify the murder weapon’30. The defence utilised the services of an expert witness; Mr Barnes (a former Forensic officer later to be discredited) who indicated he was ‘not able to see how you could prepare a list of [weapons] based on those characteristics’ (the land and groove markings on the bullet) to the list of weapons prepared by Mr Vincent31. The inference drawn was the bullets used by Mr Vincent may have been substituted at a later stage. Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal both regarded ‘the issue as improbable’ and regarded ‘Mr Vincent as a credible witness’32. Blood splatter and gun residue Due to the word limit I will only touch on the issue of the other evidence that was gathered from the crime scene in Burwood, as it was not as significant as the ballistic evidence. A forensic scientist had determined that the blood stains from the dressing gown matched blood found on the oil filter that was used as a silencer33. Another forensic scientist determined that the lack of gun residue on the dressing gown was consistent with someone being shot a close range34. These pieces of evidence led to the police interrogation of Coulston who answered â€Å"no comment’. Coulston remained silent in regards to the murder charges throughout the trial and has maintained his innocence to the charges of murder35. Coulston ultimately appealed his conviction of murder to the High Court who dismissed his appeal on the ground that it had ‘no prospects of success. 36 He is now serving three consecutive life sentences and is never to be released. Conclusion The attention to detail and the corroboration of the evidence by another Forensic Officer is tantamount to the credibility of the evidence put before the court. Any mistake made by the Forensic officer can jeopardise the trial and possibly allow a murderer to walk free, as a jury is required to make a decision on the basis of beyond reasonable doubt. In this case, if there was doubt around the date of the job card, the list of weapons and the bullets used; this may put enough doubt in a juries mind to find Coulston not guilty37.

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

Solar Energy - Research Paper Example ss of the lost radiation, the solar energy that reaches the surface of the Earth is 10,000 times the energy used by the people (Solar energy in McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 2004). The radiation which is scattered when it collides with gas molecules is termed diffuse radiation, whereas the portion that directly reaches the Earth’s surface is termed direct radiation. Clouds play an important role in the scattering of radiation and hence reduce direct radiation by 80 – 90%. Global radiation is defined as the total radiation, including the diffuse and direct radiation that reaches the Earth’s surface (Solar energy in McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 2004). Extensive research is being carried on the utilization of solar energy; and the chief aim is to develop technology and discover efficient ways to capture the low-density solar energy, and convert it to a form that would be useful. In addition, forms of energy, such as wind energy, biomass energy, hydro power and thermal energy that derive from solar energy, promise to generate clean forms of energy. At present, with the sole exception of hydropower, none of these forms of energy are being employed to any significant extent (Solar energy in McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 2004). Sources of energy that do not get exhausted and can be replenished are known as renewable sources of energy. Most of the renewable energy systems that are in use rely either directly or indirectly on solar energy. The direct sources include tapping the heat and light of the sun, whereas the indirect sources are wave power, hydroelectric power, and wind turbines (Renewable energy in Illustrated Dictionary of Science, Andromeda, 1988). With growing awareness, regarding the ill effects and the limitations of fossil fuels, which will eventually be totally consumed, there is a sustained effort to change over to a more eco – friendly economy that is

Suez Crisis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Suez Crisis - Term Paper Example Ever since the proposal of the Suez Canal was suggested, controversy broke out among key nations. The canal offered an important strategic advantage which was recognized by many different powers. The assignment will focus on the construction and opening of the canal in order to better understand its importance in the modern world. The factors which contributed to the beginning of the Crisis will also be examined. The Crisis itself will be explored with its complex political goings on and brutal military action. The assignment will also take a look at how and why the Crisis ended. Finally, the aftermath of the Crisis will be examined and assessed in order to see how it affected the countries involved and their future relations. 2. THE SUEZ CANAL The Suez Canal was opened on 17 November 1869; there by, creating a water way between Africa and Asia; for, it allowed ships to sail directly between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. The canal was 160 km [101 miles] long and 296m at its narrowest point. [New World Encyclopedia Contributors, 2008] Although, Napoleon had entertained ideas of opening such a canal, it was Ferdinand de Lesseps, a French diplomat who put the dream into motion for a linking water way which would be accessible to ships of all nations. He presented his idea to Egypt and in 1854 the Viceroy of Egypt, Mohammed Said Pasha, agreed upon the construction of the Suez Canal. A prospectus was circulated among the leading nations of the time in order to promote the idea of the canal and to find investors to sponsor the construction. This lead to the formation of the Universal Company of the Suez Maritime Canal on 20 December 1858. Due, to rivalry between France and Britain during this time, Britain was loth for France to extend its power in the region where the canal was to be constructed. Therefore, Britain refused to invest in the canal and campaigned against its construction. This led to a lack in foreign investors; thus, it was that Egypt receiv ed 44% in shares of the canal. Construction on the canal was finally begun on 25 April 18599. [British Broadcasting Corporation, 2009] It has been reported that the French employed forced labor from Egypt to construct the canal. Britain used this leverage to disrupt work on the canal by insighting unrest among the workers. It has been estimated that over 30 thousand Egyptians and 1.5 million foreigners helped in the construction of the canal. Due, to the hard working conditions over 120 thousand laborers died. [NWEC, 2008] The construction of the canal cost almost double the original estimate, totaling $100 million, making it $1 million per mile. France conducted the tariffs which were to be paid by vessels travelling on the canal. [Penfield, 1907 p7] It is ironic that three quarters of the traffic of the canal during the first year was made up of British vessels transporting goods to and from their colonial territories as well as transporting military and administrative personnel m ore quickly to Africa; thus, aiding Britain in the expansion of its colonies. [New World Encyclopedia, 2008] It took only 14 to 16 hours to traverse the canal. The canal shortened the route from Britain to Bombay in India from 10,860 miles to just over 4,600 miles. [Penfield, 1907 p15] Egypt’s Viceroy, Said Pasha, died before the completion of the canal and was succeeded by his nephew, Ismail Pasha. He was an ambitious man who

Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Research Proposal Example In democratic countries, the media is allowed the freedom to propagate news without undue influence from the government and the political class. In such nations, the media are free to air and communicate any information to the general public, although they have to follow regulatory rules set by the communications commission’s in their respective jurisdictions. In dictatorial societies, the freedom of mass media is limited, and the political class manipulates what is selected and produced by the media. Such nations are viewed as politically and democratically immature. Citizens who are subjects to repressive governments receive partial information as the government determines the content of every news release. It is widely acknowledged that the news has a momentous impact on the lives of citizens. The numerous parties involved in the news making should be viewed as stakeholders, who have every sort of interests in dynamically determining what the media’s impact on people ’s lives will be. ... This means, there is no clear distinction on who is responsible and who dominates who since the media is so influential that it set a whole nation’s agenda. The media are also powerful in centering masses’ attention on principal issues and assuming others, as well as influencing personal behavior. The cultural selection theory on media holds that any choice of the message has a profound effect on societal members (Fog, 199). In the contemporary world, the media is operating in a free and a competitive market, and are said to have no power whatsoever. Instead, it is the consumers of news, news managers, sponsors and sources who are now setting the newsmakers’ agenda. 1.3 Rationale and purpose of the study Who should select news? When limited resources have to be allocated; and fair and realistic procedures are not readily available, who should apportion such resources becomes a pertinent concern. As a result, it is right to ask who ought to be accountable for the selection and production of news. The news may be too pertinent to leave to journalists alone. Gans (2004) asserts that journalists have always insisted on retaining the sole obligation over a nation’s selection and production news. Gans notes that journalists hold that the audience rights to know is preserved if journalists are allowed to decide on what news are worthy, and when they are detached from the political process. Nevertheless, journalists are not detached for their enduring values are also political values, which imply the backing of one type of social order. Additionally, since news have political implications, and given that journalists select the news in response to source power, they are inadvertently part of the political course. These considerations

Pharmaceuticals and Job Lock-Out Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Pharmaceuticals and Job Lock-Out - Assignment Example Also, cost of health care is projected to rise from the current $2.1 trillion yearly to $4 trillion in the next 10 years (Callahan, 2008). These escalating costs are significant contributors to the rising number of uninsured people. Business entities are finding it difficult to cater for their employees’ health benefits. The current statistics show that about 61% of employers afford to pay for their employees insurance as compared to a decade ago which was about 70%. Also, employers that give their employees the health benefits are using co-payments and deductibles as a means of reducing their expenses thus forces employees to pay more. The uninsured lot that is about 15% is at a risk of both health-wise and financially. Nevertheless, the high health cost currently threatens everyone, even those in Medicaid and Medicare programs (Callahan, 2008). Hitherto, though there is great awareness among people on the risks of rising costs, this problem has not compelled the attention of the public, media or presidents with the pressure of the uninsured (this is true irrespective of the recent opinions polls showing its rising popularity). There are quite developments of strategies to achieve universal care, but not much has been done in cost control since it is implicitly unpopular. This is the case since by controlling the costs, it means others will have to give something up and agree to something different (Callahan, 2008). Pharmaceuticals play a major role in providing medical resources for cure, treatment and prevention. Patents rights and rights to intellectual property develop obstacles to competition and manipulate pricing. There are some recent policies that try to limit access to certain types of pharmaceuticals. One of such policy is proposed by the Obama administration. The policy restricts the range of insurance plan on the various drug classes. This proposed policy is receiving strong opposition from both drug companies and patient

Methodology Review Form Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Methodology Review Form - Research Paper Example This is a defining trait of a crisis for other authors (Hoff, 2001; Boi, 2005; Laws, Prideaux & Chon, 2007), but apparently not for Fink, whose definition focuses on the impacts rather than the causes of the crisis situation. In many instances, crises are so characterised not because they are unforeseen, but that they are foreseen (or at least foreseeable) and are historically and statistically deemed so unlikely to happen that precautionary and preventive measures against them are overlooked (Loveridge, 2009; Daft & Marcic, 2011). In defining the research problem, it became apparent that the threat of impending crises (i.e., crises that are unlikely but may eventually happen) face all organisations, whatever their objectives or scope of operations, in varied ways as to threaten their continue existence. Consequently, some form of crisis management is needed by all organisations in order to contain the effects of crisis incidents. In defining a manageable research problem, therefore, it become necessary to delimit the particular crises and the organisations whose crisis management responses are to be assessed, in order for this research to arrive at meaningful, properly contextualised, findings. In the course of the literature review, the necessity for the enhancement of crisis planning, prevention, assessment, and mitigation for the oil and gas industry

Elevator pitch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Elevator pitch - Essay Example The government will profit when the Americans spend more money in the country. Everything comes down to creating employment and employment can be created should the government support small scale industries. Small scale industries are more than capable of creating a plethora of jobs. This is how one initiative by the government can change the fortune of the nation. The economy of America is yet to recover from the recent setbacks, it is important for it to recover only then will more jobs be created and more Americans will get employed. Structural troubles are haunting the economy, the housing trouble for instance which was also the main reason for the recent recession impacted the economy of America severely. Americans who had borrowed money to buy houses failed to return that money to the banks as a result of which there was very little liquidity and the economy was greatly affected. â€Å"Uncertainty is natural, of course. The future is always uncertain. But there is good uncertainty and bad uncertainty, much as there is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. Good uncertainty, for example, presents opportunities for profit. Bad uncertainty arises largely when investors and entrepreneurs have very real questions about the consequences of government policy.† (Promoting Job Creation) To conclude it is very fair to say that the government has to take initiatives and create jobs for the unemployed Americans and this will only happen when the economy of America recovers from the recent setbacks. Hopefully it will happen soon and the unemployment rate will be under control once

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

Early Computers - Research Paper Example Conventional desktop and laptops have extreme efficiency and storage. Apart from these they have blended in our vehicles, aircrafts, security systems, houses and industries to name a few. The computers we use today are a result of progress and innovation for almost three quarters of a century. The early developments are discussed in detail; 2. The First Computer Konrad Zuse was a German engineer who made Z1, the first programmed digital computer in 1936 (Copeland 5). The computer used electromechanical process to relay data. His original design was based on Vacuum Tubes, but due to lack to funds he could not implement the technology in his design. Because of the electromechanical processing his computer is not considered by many to be the first fully electronic computer (â€Å"Who Invented the Computer† 2). However, Zuse continued work on his computer and in 1941 introduced Z2 and Z3. The machines used telephone relays for sending and receiving data. The breakthrough, however, came from John Atanasoff, who introduced ABC Computer in 1942. According to Null and Lobur, John Atanasoff is credited with the construction of â€Å"first completely electronic computer† (19). The computer used vacuum tubes for relaying data. ... 3. Early Developments 3.1 Vacuum Tubes Vacuum Tubes were the most critical development and the major step towards the development of modern computers. These were used to deliver electric current in a vacuumed environment. The current was passed through the tubes and amplified. These were used for electrical signals by varying the amount of current. Vacuum Tubes were used in different devices and varied as per functionality. The tubes were replaced by transistors for use in computers. They were power efficient than the tubes and were responsible for shrinking the size. Furthermore, they significantly improved reliability of these early systems (Rojas and Hashagen 85). 3.2 Storage The Vacuum Tubes were used to relay data. They could not store data and were very unreliable. The first real storage was by F.C. Williams (Lavington 19). It was simply a charged phosphor film that recorded the pulse from the tubes. The pulse was recorded as a binary with the values differing with the strength of electric signal. The pattern of binary was recorded on the film and could be later used for regeneration. The equipment was known as Williams Cathode Ray Tube and was an electrostatic storage technology. 4. Operation Binary Number System was used for calculations. Programs were based on arithmetic and it was interpreted in binary code for the computer to process any calculation (Introduction to Computers 8). The Binary System has only two values that are 1 and 0. The computers interpret electric signals as 1 and dim signals as 0. The Vacuum Tubes were used to relay the signal and the storage films were used to record the information for later use. These components made the computers extremely big and difficult in

Marketing Energy Drinks to Americas Youth Essay Example for Free

Marketing Energy Drinks to Americas Youth Essay As I started collecting information for this paper, I soon realized that the energy drink industry is a very small (18 percent) part of the beverage industry, but a very dominant part to say the least. Interestingly, the major players in the industry, Monster Energy, Red Bull, and Rockstar, have intentionally veered away from the conventional mediums used to promote products. They instead have chosen marketing mediums that appeal more to their target markets and the â€Å"live life on the edge† lifestyles that they live. Monster for example, shies away from mass market advertising; instead they focus all of their sales efforts and marketing muscle on sponsoring action sports athletes, artists and musical, events and tours. All of this ties in with the company’s overall philosophy that Monster isn’t just a beverage, but a lifestyle brand (Landi). â€Å"The key is for us (Monster) to retain what we do best, which is marketing in an unconventional way and keep that feel for the brand,† said Rodney Sacks, CEO of Hansen Natural Corp. â€Å"Monster is all about action sports, punk rock music, partying, girls, and living life on the edge† (Landi). The companies that produce energy drinks are using the current popularity of action sports such as motocross, skateboarding, BMX, etc. , to showcase their products and to further brand awareness. It’s not coincidental that the demographic that participates in these sports and idolizes its professional athletes are also the same demographic that consumes energy drinks. You’ll see very few TV commercials or print ads promoting energy drinks but when you turn on the ESPN produced X-Games, just about every athlete participating is sponsored by Red Bull, Monster, or Rockstar. John Lee, director of sports marketing for Monster Energy Drink says, â€Å"We don’t do print ads or television. We strictly have promoted our brand through athletes and the events that the athletes compete in. † With our current generation (Gen – Y) of young Americans being the first to really grow up with the Web, it is important for marketeers to embrace the use of the internet as a vital marketing tool and communication medium (Ness). â€Å"This group has a lot of lifetime ahead of them and that makes their Lifetime Value (LTV) high for marketers,† says Greg Ness, Chief Strategy Officer, Burst Media. Ness was also quick to point out that, â€Å"one-third of current college students spend 10 or more hours online per week and one-fifth spend 20 hours or more online. † Ness concludes, â€Å"Their time online exceeds the amount of time they are spending watching TV or listening to the radio. † Monster has recently starting using the internet as a recruiting / marketing tool of sorts when they introduced the â€Å"Monster Army. † The Army is a â€Å"grassroots marketing outreach community that also locates up-and-coming athletes seeking sponsorship opportunities† (Campanelli). In the past few years, more than 50,000 athletes (recruits) have signed up as members of the Monster Army where more than 1,000 of them are currently sponsored through the program. â€Å"It’s been a very successful program, our Army members are out there spreading the word about our products, telling ten of their friends who in turn tell ten of their friends, it’s a snowball effect† (Lee). In addition Monster has also recently announced an exclusive relationship with the Loop’d Network, a social media platform exclusively for online sports communities. The Loop’d Network currently boasts more than 200,000 members worldwide (Campanelli). The history of energy drinks is much deeper than most would imagine. Japan is credited for pioneering the energy drink phenomenon, but the first mass produced energy drink was called Lucozade, and was launched in 1929, in the UK (Research Wikis). It wasn’t until Red Bull, which was first launched in 1987, and introduced the United States to the world of energy drinks a decade later that the energy drink industry really took off (Reuters). Red Bull might have had the first big impact on the market in 1997, but Monster, launched in 2002, by Hansen Natural Corp. has clearly made a strong impression on the market. With its initial market share of 12 percent in 2003, Monster now has a 30 percent hold on the market while Red Bull maintains 25 percent (Reuters). Past portrayals of energy drinks were for the most part all negative as energy drinks are not regulated by the FDA and most contain large amounts of sugar, sodium, and caffeine, among other things. Some brands and flavors have a caffeine content that can range from a modest 50 mg. to an alarming 505 mg. per can (Reissig). For example, an 8. 3 oz. can of Red Bull contains 76 mg. of caffeine which is about twice what a 12 oz.can of Coke contains (LeBlanc). A 16 oz. can of Monster contains about 14 teaspoons of sugar and 200 calories (LeBlanc). So what are all of these â€Å"negative† energy boosting drinks doing to our bodies? A recent study done by Wayne State University in Detroit showed that consumption of energy drinks increased blood pressure and heart rate levels in healthy adults that drank two cans a day (LeBlanc). With all of those negative aspects there must be something good in energy drinks. There is a long list of beneficial ingredients that can be found in most of the energy drinks on the market today. They include; vitamin B-complex, antioxidant vitamins C and E, the amino acid taurine, bee pollen, inositol, glucuronolactone, and herbal extracts from ginseng, guarana, ginkgo biloba, horny goat weed, milk thistle, yerba mate, damiana, rosemary, skullcap, black seed, royal jelly, and white willow, among others (Berry). The overall benefits that energy drinks are said to produce include stress relief, sobering effects, an improved love life, increased stamina, sharper reflexes, heightened alertness, virility, and they’ll stimulate your metabolism (Berry). The demographic that energy drink companies are after is rather broad. While their number one consumer fits the description of a young white male between the ages of 16 to 25, energy drink companies are broadening their marketing horizons and are now looking at men, women, and children between the ages of 12 and 40 (LeBlanc). â€Å"Younger kids see drinking energy drinks as something their parents might disapprove of,† says Jim Karwowski of Power Brands. A market that has yet to be fully tapped into is the female consumer. While the number of female consumers has grown 74 percent over the last five years, women are still considered the minority population when it comes to energy drinkers. Almost 20 percent of men say they drink energy drinks while only 10 percent of women say they do (Francella). I’ll be using information gathered from a number of different research papers as well as reports produced from beverage industry insiders to substantiate my findings on the marketing techniques being used to lure America’s youth into becoming loyal consumers. Method: During this study I coded 60 magazines. I reviewed issues of Racer X Illustrated and Motocross Action Magazine looking for ads from energy drink companies. My goal was to find print ads directly from the energy drink companies themselves that promoted their product. Once found (if found), I would evaluate what the ad was about and what demographic the ad was targeting. I watched and coded 10 TV commercials (via YouTube) in an attempt to figure out if the messages shown were directed towards a particular market. The only â€Å"corporate made† TV commercials I was able to find were from Red Bull and Rockstar. I found a variety of homemade Monster commercials but none that would have been endorsed by the corporate office. With Red Bull, four of the ads were animated and four were of Red Bull sponsored athletes. The two Rockstar commercials were based around music, one having a more psychedelic look while the other had a guitar player helping a stranded woman. My goal here was to evaluate what the ads were about and what demographic the ads was intended for. I reviewed and coded four web sites, three from energy drink companies and one from an action sports promotion company. My objective while evaluating these sites was to see what groups of people, whether it was men or women, and what age range was the information intended for. I found a vast amount of information to dissect and code from companies that are within the beverage industry. These are companies that do product reviews, market analysis, and product introductions, among other things. Two common messages that I repeatedly found in these articles revolved around college kids using energy drinks to mix with alcohol and the overall abuse of energy drinks. My objective here was to get an idea of how many college kids fall into one of these two groups. Although my options were limited due to a lack of documentation from other academic researchers, I was able to find, evaluate, and code information from four other academic research papers. I was able to find these documents after an exhaustive search using Lexis Nexis, Psychinfo, and the Social Science Citation Index via the Joyner Library. I came across a huge inventory of other academic research papers that were based on similar subjects, but to gain access to more than the first paragraph I would have had to sign up for subscriptions and pay fees. I’m hoping that my frugalness will not negatively impact my grade and hope the information that I was able to obtain and evaluate will satisfy the requirements of this paper. While evaluating and coding the different mediums I looked at the overall tone of the material. Was the tone very harsh and bold, which would possibly be directed more towards college aged males? Was the tone very light hearted and fun which would be more appealing to a younger population and/or women? Or lastly, did the ad have some sexual overtones and innuendos which could either be directed at young men or women? Results: Being a subscriber of Racer X Illustrated and/or Motocross Action Magazine for the last 30 years, I have found that I look at many of the ads in those magazines in a rather numb, non-consuming state of mind. I’ve seen the ads so many times that I know all about the companies and their products so I don’t pay much attention to them. To my surprise, after looking at 60 different magazines that were printed over a span of five years, I didn’t find a single ad that was specifically advertising the actual energy drink. I found a large variety of ads that were promoting energy drink sponsored events, but none for the drinks themselves. The majority of the sponsored events were either motocross races, action sports events, or alternative rock concerts (the Vans Warped Tour) and bands (Linkin Park). If I was to describe the age, sex, and race of the attendees of these events it would probably be predominantly 16 – 25 year old, white, males. Although I didn’t find any product ads in the magazines it was nearly impossible to turn a page and not find pictures of riders or motorcycles that didn’t have the name or logo of an energy drink showing. I felt the four animated Red Bull commercials could be perceived as trying to target the very young viewers and the female market as much as anything else. They were light hearted, funny cartoons that weren’t big, bold, and overbearing. The four Red Bull commercials featuring their sponsored athletes were very action packed and intense. They included Robbie â€Å"Mado† Madison jumping his motorcycle onto the roof of a building in Las Vegas, â€Å"B-boy Ronnie† freestyle break dancing, big wave surfer Ian Walsh, and stunt plane pilot Kirby Chambliss. While the animated commercials carried the pitch, â€Å"Red Bull Gives You Wings,† the commercials with the athletes concluded with the athlete saying, â€Å"Welcome to my World, the World of Red Bull. † These action driven commercials were in my opinion made for the thrill seeking male consumer between the ages of 16 to 25. I also found that Red Bull’s marketing plan has the brand pursuing traditional advertising such as TV commercials as its last phase of product market development (Hein). â€Å"Media is not a tool that we use to establish the market,† says Red Bull’s Vice President of Marketing, David Rohdy. â€Å"The idea is to reinforce, not introduce the brand. Only when a market is deemed mature does the company begin a media push,† concluded Rohdy. Red Bull typically creates two new TV spots each year and runs them in their â€Å"mature markets† (Hein). The four web sites that I reviewed and coded were the corporate web sites of Red Bull: http://www. redbull. com/ , Rockstar Energy Drink: http://www. rockstar69. com/ , Monster Energy: http://www. monsterenergy. com/. In addition to the three top selling energy drink brands I also looked at Alli Sports: http://www. allisports. com/ the promoter of some of the biggest action sports series and events in the world. Themes that were consistent with all four of the sites were action, youth, and energy, energy, energy. The Red Bull site was the most clean cut and professional looking site out of the three beverage sites. I’m not saying that the Rockstar and Monster sites were cheaply made, or have an unprofessional appearance, but the Red Bull site looks like something you would present to share holders of the company. It has the least amount of â€Å"boldness† of the three beverage sites, but is packed full of well filmed video clips showing off their sponsored athletes. I don’t know if the fact that the corporate base for Red Bull is in Austria has anything to do with the web sites visual appeal, but it’s definitely a different approach than its competition took. With the look and accessibility of this site and its features I felt like it was geared for an older more mature audience. I didn’t see the sight selling the sexual appeal of women as much as I did on the Rockstar site. I think Red Bull’s site would appeal to both men and women ages 15 to 40. The Rockstar site was definitely the edgiest of the three beverage sites. Just on the home page alone you see ads for mixed martial arts fights and heavy metal concerts that the brand is sponsoring. If you look further down you can watch a short video clip of five beautiful, big breasted women posing on motorcycles and race cars. There’s also links that talk about the variety of products they offer as well as links to the various music and sports events that they sponsor to include the sponsored bands and athletes that participate in those events. I felt that the Rockstar site was definitely geared for young, white, males, ages 15 to 30. Overall I thought that the site had a very harsh tone to it and women probably wouldn’t appreciate it. With a mix of the fighters and rock concert promotions flashing on the screen a viewer might even feel some rage building inside while viewing the site. The Monster site was all about speed. The home page had a constantly changing look that showcased many Monster sponsored racers. The site overall was neatly laid out. It didn’t have as clean and crisp of a look as Red Bull had but it wasn’t as busy as the Rockstar site was. The site was easy to navigate and was very appealing to the eye. I feel the overall look of the site and the message that it gives was directed more towards the young, white, male between the ages of 15 and 35. The site is very dark, as the background is black, and has a hardcore feel and tone. I think women might be turned off by that. One feature on the Monster site that is inviting to a broader fan / consumer base is the Monster Army. I think the idea of being a part of something is a selling point for many of today’s youth. I think the Monster Army is an appealing environment for both sexes with an age range of 12 to 40. The Alli Sports web site focuses on the promotion of the action sports events that they promote. Although Alli Sports doesn’t have direct sponsorship deals with any of the leading energy drink companies, all of the athletes that are sponsored by those companies participate in Alli Sports produced events. The same demographic that participates in BMX, motocross, wakeboarding, skateboarding, and other alternative action sports that Alli promotes also consume energy drinks. I feel the Alli site is geared more towards the fans of action sports which could be male or female between the ages of 12 and 40. It’s a very bright web site and has a low key and fun overall tone to it. Both the articles I found from industry insiders as well as the academic research papers that I found voiced similar issues and concerns. One issue of concern and importance addressed the use of energy drinks by college students. I was unaware of the fact that many energy drinks are on the list of nutritional supplements banned by the NCAA. Caffeine is a stimulant and college athletes will fail a drug test if the concentration of caffeine in their sample is 15 micrograms per milliliter. That would be the equivalent of slamming five to 10 cups of coffee before a game (Moritz). Another concern that researchers have is the increasing number of college students that are consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks. In the fall of 2006, 4,271 college students from 10 universities in North Carolina were surveyed about their consumption of energy drinks, alcohol, and the combination of the two. The results of the survey showed that 697 of the students had consumed one or more energy drinks within the last 30 days, and one-quarter of the students said that they mixed alcohol and energy drinks. Looking at the amount of energy drinks consumed by the two sexes it was discovered that men drank on average 2. 49 energy drinks per month while women drank 1. 22 drinks per month. Students who were young, male, white, intramural athletes, and fraternity members or pledges, were significantly more likely to drink energy drinks that those in other demographics (O’Brien, Miller). With college students’ taking heavier class loads and the ever present concern of one’s grades, caffeine abuse has been on the rise on college campuses. There has been an increase in reports of caffeine intoxication from the mass consumption of energy drinks as well as an overall an increase in the number of students that are dealing with caffeine dependence and withdrawal issues (Reissig). The poison control center in Chicago has handled 265 cases of caffeine abuse involving energy drinks in the last three years. The users’ average age was under 21 (LeBlanc). Interpretation: Based on information I reviewed, I feel that the energy drink industry is very strong and will continue to grow. I think the marketeers of the energy drinks are doing a great job at getting visibility for their products and they’re focusing on a set consumer demographic that has huge spending power. The youth and college students today are easily influenced and have a strong influence on the products their peers buy. The studies show that because these energy drink companies are gaining brand loyalty from their consumers at a young age that the odds are in their favor that they will become lifelong consumers. Taking the unconventional route to marketing may or may not be any cheaper than doing normal TV spots that Coke and Pepsi do. Either way, the leaders of the energy drink market are making it work for them. From a financial standpoint, I think the return on investment will come faster in the energy drink industry than it ever has in any other aspect of the beverage industry. Selling 8 oz. cans for over $2 a can is a quick way to make money. Red Bull, Monster, and Rockstar are dominating the energy drink industry when it comes to consumer preference with white male’s ages 12 to 40, but what about the ladies? The industry has yet to scratch the surface of the young female consumer market. Granted, there aren’t too many professional female athletes participating in alternative sports yet, but there are other lines of approach that the industry needs to consider. I remember seeing a bumper sticker once that said, â€Å"Girls Kick Ass. † It is that same kick ass mentality that has made energy drinks as popular as they are today. I think it will only be a matter of time before we see one of the power players in the energy drink industry come out with a product specifically marketed towards women. Maybe a black Monster can with a hot pink claw mark rather than the green one, who knows?! I foresee the FDA getting involved sooner than later with regulations on how much sugar, sodium, and caffeine can be in each product. I don’t feel that mixing energy drinks and alcohol is that big of a problem and personally hope laws don’t get created to prohibit such mixes. I think that if an individual is going to consume alcohol irresponsibly, they are going to do it regardless on the fact that an energy drink is or isn’t part of their drink selection. Bibliography: Campanelli, M. and Lee, J. , eMarketingandCommerce. com (2007). â€Å"Social Media Tips from Monster Energy† (accessed June 9, 2009). Available at: http://www. emarketingandcommerce. com/view/106 Landi, H. , Hall, M. , and Sacks, R. , Beverage World (2009) â€Å"Monster Energy: A Mighty Force† (accessed June 9, 2009) Available at: http://www. beverageworld. com/content/view/35687/ Scribd, BevNet, Research Wikis (2006) â€Å"Research Wikis Energy Drink marketing Research† (accessed June 10, 2009) Available at: http://www. scribd. com/doc/3259151/ResearchWikis-Energy-Drinks-Marketing-Research Rajan, A. , Reuters (2009) â€Å"Hansen’s Monster Takes the Fight to Red Bull’s Turf† (accessed June 10, 2009) Available at: http://www. reuters. com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE5313N320090402 Francella, B. , CS News Online (2008) â€Å"Energy Drink Sales Growth Running Out of Steam? † (accessed June 10, 2009). Available at: http://www. csnews. com/csn/index. jsp Search: â€Å"Energy Drink Sales† Berry, B., Agri-Food Trade Service (2008) â€Å"The Energy Drink Segment in North America† (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://www. ats. agr. gc. ca/us/4387_e. htm LeBlanc, P. , Austin American Statesman (2008). â€Å"The Buzz on Energy Drinks – Energy Drinks Booming in Popularity† (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://www. statesman. com/ Search: â€Å"The Buzz on Energy Drinks† Hein, K. , and Rohdy, D. , Brandweek (2001) â€Å"A Bull’s Market – the Marketing of Red Bull Energy Drink† (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0BDW/is_22_42/ai_75286777/?tag=content;col1 Moritz, A. , Tribune Business News (2008). â€Å"Think Before Using an Energy Drink: Colleges† (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://proquest. umi. com. jproxy. lib. ecu. edu/login? COPT=REJTPUc2 Search in the ProQuest Research Library database: â€Å"Think Before Using an Energy Drink: Colleges† Reissig, C. J. , Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (2009) â€Å"Caffeinated Energy Drinks – A Growing Problem† (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://web. ebscohost. com. jproxy. lib.ecu. edu/ehost/search? vid=1hid=6sid=5b788385-77d0-43c3-8372-037638da0fc6%40SRCSM2 Search in the PsycINFO database: â€Å"Caffeinated Energy Drinks – A Growing Problem† O’Brien, M. C. , Wake Forest Univ, Bowman Gray Sch Med, Dept Emergency Med, Winston Salem, NC (2008) â€Å"Caffeinated Cocktails: Energy Drink Consumption, High-Risk Drinking, and Alcohol- Related Consequences Among College Students† (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://apps. isiknowledge. com. jproxy. lib. ecu. edu/summary. do? qid=2product=WOSSID=1BONI6HlgO3hemOl6fPsearch_mode=GeneralSearch. Miller, K. E. , SUNY Coll Buffalo, Res Inst Addict, Buffalo, NY – Journal of American College Health (2008) â€Å"Wired: Energy Drinks, Jock Identity, Masculine Norms, and Risk Taking† (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://apps. isiknowledge. com. jproxy. lib. ecu. edu/summary. do? qid=5product=WOSSID=1BONI6HlgO3hemOl6fPsearch_mode=GeneralSearch Ness, G. , Chief Strategy Officer, Sundog. net (2006) â€Å"Marketing to College Students 101 (accessed June 11, 2009) Available at: http://www. sundog. net/sunblog/posts/marketing-to-college-students-101/.

Standard Grade English Essay Example for Free

Standard Grade English Essay This revision looks more closely at the second purpose of writing which is examined in Standard Grade English to deploy ideas and argue. This means that you are expected to discuss a given topic and to present an argument related to it. Organising a discursive essay There are three basic structures (ways of organising) for the discursive essay * you argue strongly for a given discussion topic * you argue strongly against a given discussion topic * you argue about a given discussion topic in a balanced way. Ideally, you should read these over (and complete any accompanying tasks)before you attempt the test bite. Good luck! Finding information for a discursive essay In the same way as you would look for information for the informative essay, you could try the following areas for information which would support arguments in the discursive essay * any relevant books from any library you can reach (check the non-fiction and reference sections) * the internet * magazines and newspapers * television and video * mums and dads and brothers and sisters and uncles * and aunts and friends . . . . . . ! It is important that you keep a note of where all your information comes from. This will allow you to check it again later, and will also allow you to complete the ‘Sources consulted’ section on the folio tag. Other points If you choose to do the discursive essay remember that you are expected to have a personal opinion try to make clear your personal interest in the issues you are offering for discussion! Remember, in the examination itself, you will not be able to access information, nor take in notes of any description (you wont know whats in the paper anyway!). So, the ideas about access to all of the above sources apply mainly to the completion of discursive essays for your folio. Planning a discursive essay The following basic structure should be employed for writing this essay. * Provide an interesting introduction. * Provide a clear indication of your position, your stance in relation to the topic (are you for or against ?). * Present your first argument, with supporting evidence. * Present your second argument, with supporting evidence. * Present your third argument, with supporting evidence. * Present your fourth argument, with supporting evidence, and so on (the number of paragraphs like this will depend on the number of arguments you can offer). * Indicate, in a single paragraph, that there is another side to this argument, with some idea of the points likely to be made for the view(s) which are opposite to your own. * Reiterate (state again) your position and conclude your essay. This plan is followed in the exemplar essay provided in this revision bite. Introducing a discursive essay The opening of an essay is important. It should capture the readers attention in some way or another. It should avoid being bland or dull. It should invite the reader to read on and create a sense of interest. If the beginning is flat, it will not inspire your audience. Methods of Opening a Discursive Essay The following methods are suggestions. It is up to you to decide which style suits your writing best. Provocative e.g.It is difficult to see how anyone can approve of fox hunting. Balanced e.g.Fox hunting is a subject about which people hold strongly contrasting views. Quotation e.g.Oscar Wilde once described fox hunting as The unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable.. Illustration e.g.On a glorious autumn morning a terrified, exhausted animal is savaged to death by a pack of baying dogs while a group of expensively dressed humans encourage the dogs in their bloody work. Anecdote e.g.I have always detested fox hunting since I was almost physically sick while watching a television film of the kill at the end of a hunt. Linking ideas in a discursive essay Any well-written piece of discursive writing will flow as one continuous piece despite being made up of three or four different arguments. One of the techniques which can help you to achieve this effectively is the use of linking words. These words are usually used at the beginning of a new paragraph but can also be used to link ideas within a paragraph. Same line of thought e.g. and, firstly, secondly etc., next, furthermore, likewise, in addition, similarly, also, moreover. Conclusion/summary e.g. thus, therefore, consequently, accordingly, in retrospect, hence, in conclusion, in brief, as a result. Definite statement e.g. without question, without doubt, unquestionably, absolutely. Contrasting idea e.g. yet, on the other hand, nevertheless, however, although, conversely, otherwise, on the contrary. Further examples because, for instance, since, for example, so that, despite the fact that, accordingly, although, if, though, unless. Formal tone in a discursive essay It is important when you write a discursive essay to write in a proper formal way. You should not use an informal style to write a discursive essay. In simple terms, this means the following Do| Do not use| Write in proper, complete sentences| Abbreviations (i.e./e.g./etc./UK/)| Use complete words and expressions| Contractions (isnt/dont/wont)| Use proper, standard English| Slang (e.g. bloke/geezer etc)| | Colloquial language (mate/bolshy etc.)| On a slightly different note, you should also try to make sure that you use a decent standard of vocabulary in any formal essay you write. In particular, try to avoid weak vocabulary such as get, got and getting. Relying on this level of vocabulary too often suggests that your power of expression is weak. Build up your word power! Discursive essay example In this page, you will concentrate on one discursive essay structure. Below you will find an example discursive essay. Read the essay over carefully. Study it and work out how it has been written. Reading the essay Whilst reading the essay, consider the following questions, writing down your ideas * what is the main idea the writer is arguing about? * each paragraph has a sub-topic which contributes to the essays main topic what does each paragraph contribute to the argument? * what evidence does the writer offer to support the arguments? * which of the three suggested structures identified earlier does the writer adopt in this essay? * does the writer link ideas clearly in the essay? * You will probably want to read the essay over twice to help you answer these questions. 1 A subject which always arouses strong feelings on both sides of the argument is the use of animals in medical research. I believe that, though this may have been necessary in the past, other ways can be developed to test drugs and, in the future, animals should not be used. 2 One of my main reasons for saying this is that living tissues can be grown in test tubes and new drugs can be tested on these. Computers can also be programmed to show how medicines will react in the human body. 3 Moreover, animals are not always like humans. They do not suffer from all human diseases, so scientists have to give them the illnesses artificially. The joints in rabbit legs are inflamed with chemicals to help research in rheumatism. These tests do not always work because animals do not react to drugs in the same way as humans. Aspirin, for example, damages pregnant mice and dogs, but not pregnant women. Arsenic, which is a deadly poison for humans, has no effect on sheep, while penicillin, which is so valuable to humans, kills guinea pigs. 4 In addition, I believe that animal experiments should not be used because of the unnecessary pain that they cause to animals. The government introduced new rules about the use of animals in experiments in 1986. Scientists claim that these rules safeguard animals because they state that discomfort must be kept to a minimum and that painkillers must be used where necessary and appropriate. Surely this means, however, that scientists can still decide not to use painkillers in the animal experiments because they do not consider them appropriate. The British Union against Vivisection claims that 75% of animals experimented on are given no anaesthetic. 5 In spite of the claims of some scientists about the effectiveness of animal research, the death rate in this country has stayed the same over the last thirty years. There is also more long-term sickness, even though greater numbers of animals are being used in research. 6 On the other hand, scientists claim that some experiments are so small, for example giving an injection, that painkillers are not needed. They also argue that experiments on animals have been very useful in the past. For instance, the lives of ten million human diabetics have been saved because of experiments with insulin on dogs. Dogs also benefited, as the same drug can be used on them. In fact, a third of medicines used by vets are the same as those used by doctors. 7 It is argued by researchers that the use of animals in experiments cannot be replaced by methods using living tissue which has been grown in test tubes. These tests do not show how the drugs work on whole animals and so they only have limited effectiveness. 8 Although I accept that some drugs can be used on animals and humans, this does not mean that they have to be tested on animals in the first place when alternative methods are available. Alternative methods do work. Various groups have been set up to put money into other ways of researching. For example the Dr. Hadwen Trust has shown how human cartilage can be grown in test tubes to study rheumatism. Similar research is being done into cancer and multiple sclerosis. Tests can be done on bacteria to see whether a chemical will cause cancer. There is even a programme of volunteer human researchers, where people suffering from illnesses offer to help in research. 9 In conclusion, I accept that animal experiments have brought great benefits in the past, but now money needs to be spent on developing other methods of testing drugs and medical procedures, so that the use of animals can be phased out altogether.

Analysis of Peripherin-2 Cone Mutation V268I

Analysis of Peripherin-2 Cone Mutation V268I Introduction: 1.1 Composition of Retina: Eye an organ which is known for its sensory function Vision, serves as a basis for perception of the world outside. Three layers of tissues enclose the eye, outermost layer sclera, middle layer choroid and inner layer retina. Central macular region of the retina called as fovea consist of photoreceptor cells, where maximum visual acuity is possible due to minimal light scattering. Iris found in region between the cornea and lens acts like an aperture controlling the amount of light that could enter and pass through retina (Siegel and Sapru.2011). Retina consists of following layers: The outer most primary epithelium layer with pigmented melanin cells absorbs uncaptured light preventing reflection back to rest of retina. The later parts of retina layers involved in sensing and processing of light stimulus are the layers with photoreceptor cells- light sensitive region with rod and cone cells, external limiting membrane, outer nuclear layer, outer plexiform layer, inner nuclear layer, inner plexiform layer and inner most layer with ganglion cell axon fibers. Optically as light when imaged onto retinal photoreceptor layer, light passing through this layer with rods and cones converts light stimuli to electric signal through horizontal cells, further processed through bipolar, amacrine before they reach ganglion cells. From the axons of Central Nervous System (CNS) ganglion cells information is passed in the form of action potential to optic disc and optic nerve signal is received by brain’s visual center. (Ayoub, 2008). 1.2 Composition of Photoreceptors: Retina is made up of two different types of photo receptors- Rods and cones, the ratio of these photoreceptors vary in different species depending on its habitat being diurnal or nocturnal, in human’s rod cells are in majority with cone cells in a ratio of 20:1 (Mustafi et al., 2009). Rods and cones consist of outer segment, inner segment and synaptic terminal. Towards outer surface retina outer segments are located, these segments contain membranous discs arranged in the form of a stack, and these regions are involved in photo transduction by detecting photons and converting them into electrical signals. Inner segment consist of nucleus, both segments are integrated by a stalk containing microtubules. The synaptic terminal carries out synaptic contact with other cells (Siegel and Sapru. 2011). Retinal pigment epithelial cells phagocytize the aged disks which are shed from distal end when new a new disk is added to the base (Young. 1967). Fig: 1 Structure of rod and cone cell. In rods outer segment disc membrane is separated by plasma membrane, disks consist of enclosing lipid bilayer compartment called as disk lumen or intra distal space. Lamellar region of the disk is joined by curved rim region, lamellar region consist of photoreceptor protein, Rhodopsin – an integral membrane protein, and curved rim regions consist of filaments extending to cytoplasmic regions of adjoining disks maintaining structure of outer segment. Rim regions also contain membrane proteins Rim-1, a high molecular weight protein and two other lower molecular weight proteins Peripherin/rds and Rom-1. In cones discs are not completely formed, they are adjoined and are continuous with plasma membrane. (Molday. 1994). These two proteins Peripherin/rds and Rom-1 are homologous in structure, peripherin/rds is expressed both in rods and cones while Rom-1 is only found in rods, they can interact to form dimers and tetramers. (Elizabeth. 2005) Cones are known to be responsible for vision during daylight and mediate color vision, while rods do not. Axial structure of cones makes them capture light efficiently during day, with fast responsive membrane potential with less integration time. There are three types of cones L, M, S cones which are specific to a region of visible spectrum to which they are found to be sensitive. L cones are sensitive to ÊÅ ½max~ 553-565, M cones are sensitive to ÊÅ ½max~ 530-537, S cones are sensitive to ÊÅ ½max~ 415-430, frequency of photons. (Mustafi et al., 2009). Rods are specialized to work under dim light conditions, rhodopsin is the most abundant protein found in the rods constituting about 85 % of total protein in rod outer segments. (Elizabeth. 2005). Circuit transmitting information to ganglion cells is different in rods and cones, each rod bipolar cell is connected to many rod cells, and many rod bipolar cells are connected by amacrine cell. More convergence make rods better detector of light but reduces spatial resolution. In cones it’s less convergent as each ganglion cell receives input from only one cone bipolar cell, which is connected to single cone cell (Mustafi et al., 2009). Signal transduction in Photoreceptors: The signaling cascade in photoreceptors involves from light absorption till signal generation by membrane polarization, resulting in controlling the rate of release of neurotransmitter through synaptic terminal. In Dark light condition gyanylate cyclases (GCs) actively produce high Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels, There by the cGMP sensitive cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channel is in its open state and gives rise to the influx of Na+ and Ca+2. Rods and cones are depolarized to ~35 to 45 mV, where outer segment membrane channels are open permeable to Na+ by effluxing k+ balancing cations. This constitutes a circuit known as â€Å"Dark or circulating current†. In this condition with the channel opened for influx of ca+2 initiates the release of neurotransmitter from synaptic terminal. In light conditions cation channel in outer membrane is closed, thereby membrane hyperpolarizes towards equilibrium potential for k+, causing halt in neurotransmitter release (Jindrova. 1998). When photon is absorbed by Rhodopsin- a 40 kDa protein belonging to G protein coupled receptors, consist of a protein opsin, a single polypeptide with seven transmembrane helical segments forming three cytoplasmic loops and a chromophore 11-cis retinal, which binds to lysine, 296 residue on opsin’s seventh helix. In rods and cones photon absorption leads to isomerization of 11-cis retinal form to all trans retinal confirmation and in the surrounding opsin repositioning of cytoplasmic loops occur which in turn activates the protein to Metarhodopsin II (R*) state, which stimulates the heterotrimeric G protein transducin (Hargrave et al.1993; Scot and John . 2008). Preceding from here all the steps occur in dark state, Transducin stimulates cGMP phosphodiesterase (PDE6) to hydrolyze cGMP to 5’GMP by dissociation of ÃŽ ³ subunit from PDE ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ² subunits, resulting a vast increase of 5’GMP and decrease in cGMP concentration leading to the closing of the CNG channel. As a consequence, the outer membrane hyperpolarises to ~-70 mV and release of neurotransmitter is halted to bipolar cells, finally light signal information is sent by termination of transmitter release to the brain. For regeneration of dark current, the Rod cell needs to restore back the concentration of cGMP which is regulated by concentration of Ca+2 and by gyanylate cyclases (GC), Ca+2 molecules are bound by gyanylate activating proteins. In light conditions, where the CNG channels are closed and Ca+2 levels are low, the low level of calcium activates gyanylate activating proteins, which in turn stimulates gyanylate cyclases leading to production of cGMP. Increased level of cGMP causes to open CNG channel and dark current is restored (Jindrova. 1998). Additional mechanisms are found to be involved to restore the molecules from active to inactive state. Inactivation of Rh* by phosphorylation, catalyzed by rhodopsin kinase (Chenet al.1999). Phosphorylated rhodopsin is blocked by the protein arrestin by binding to it preventing activation of transducin, resulting in breakdown of activated rhodopsin (Xu et al,. 1997). The all trans retinal disassociates from opsin, diffuses to cytosol transported to outersegment then into pigmental epithelium where it is reconverted to 11- cis retinal, then the recycled 11 -cis retinal is transported back to outer segments. Peripherin- 2: This membrane protein is named on basis of localization studies done in 1987, which revealed that this protein was found localized around the periphery region of the outer segments, disks in rods and lamellae or disks in cones. (Molday et al,. 1987). In humans peripherin/rds is encoded by cDNA Peripherin/rds with open reading frame of 346 amino acids, weighing 39.3 KDa (Travis et al., 1989). Peripherin is an integral membrane glycoprotein having four trans membrane domains. When photoreceptor cells fail to develop in outer segments it results in retinal disorder named retinal degeneration slow (rds). Amino acid sequence of peripherin in bovine photoreceptor cell is 92.5% identical to protein encoded by rds gene in wild type mouse. Localization of these proteins was also found to be in rod outer segment (ROS) membranes, implying the role of peripherin-2 as a cause in retinal disorder. (Connell et al, .1991). Peripherin protein is also known and addressed with many other names like pho toreceptor peripherin, peripherin-2, peripherin/rds, rds/peripherin and rds. The two dimensional structure proposed consisted of four membrane spanning domains, with its N and C terminals located intracellular in extradiscal space, two extra cellular loops D1 and D2 ( EC1 and EC2) are localized with each containing a N-linked glycan in intradiscal space. The D2 loop among four species mouse, rat, human and bovine is found to be 92% identical, predicted that evolutionary drift in this loop could be a reason for its involvement in protein -protein interactions. (Connell and Molday, 1990; Travis et al., 1991). Fig: 2 Structure of Peripherin-2. D2 loop in intradiskal region is found to be key in protein folding and tetrameric subunit formation, changes in amino acids in this loop resulted in either protein misfolding or reduction in sediment coefficient of protein or even both, seven cysteine residues found in this loop to be important for intramolecular disulphide bonds, one of the cysteine residue is responsible for polymerization of tetramers (Loewen and Molday, 2000). When seven conserved cysteine residues were replaced they showed abnormalities, C214S linked mutant for adRP was not normally folding and interacting with rom-1 protein to form tetramer. While in C150S mutant failed to form intra molecular disulphide bonds, these results revealed that cysteine residues were crucial for folding of protein and subunit assembly, failure of these functions are linked to retinal disorders like adRP. (Goldberg et al., 1997). Human rom-1 protein with 351 amino acids exhibiting 35% identity to peripherin-2, hydropathy profiles revealed that rom-1 and peripherin-2 have a similar topology with four transmembrane domains, one of differences noted in the both the proteins were consensus sequence for N-linked glycosylation is absent in the rom-1 (Molday. 1994). Peripherin homologous protein rom-1 forms disulfide-linked dimers with each other (Bascom et al.,1992). Peripherin-2/rom-1 core native complex was found to exist as a tetramer, membrane curvature was found to induce with tetramer formation when they were reconstructed in lipid vesicles (Kevany et al,. 2013). Peripherin-2 associates with itself and also with its homologue rom-1 in forming homo and heterotetramers core, these tetramers when linked intramolecularly together by disulphide bonding forms octamers and higher order oligomers (Loewen and Molday. 2000). A highly conserved region within the C-terminal domain of peripherin/rds was found to be import ant for membrane fusion, it forms a complex with melanoregulin (MREG) onto the last five residues of the C-terminus (Gln341-Gly346), membrane fusion is important in organelle biogenesis, disc morphogenesis and disc shedding. (Boesze-Battaglia et al., 2007). Peripherin/rds plays a major role in rod and cone outer segment morphogenesis. In mice, absence of peripherin/rds leads to develop normal photoreceptor inner segments but they fail to form outer segments, these outer segments undergo apoptosis (Nir and Papermaster. 1986). Peripherin- 2 is found to have differential roles in rod and cone cells with respect to their binding partners. Peripherin 2 found to be binding with the Glutamic acid rich protein (GARP) portion of ÃŽ ² subunit of rod CNG channel. This interaction is predicted to anchorage disc rim and rod plasma membrane, but in cone CNG channel such interaction was not observed, as GARP is not expressed in cone CNG channel or in other from. (Conley et al,.2010). Peripherin-2 links CNGB1a CNG channel subunit to rhodopsin, these three forms a complex localizing its contact between disk rims and plasma membrane regions. FRET experiments revealed that transmembrane -4 (TM4) of periperin-2 is key for rhodopsin interaction. In peripherin-2, G266D mutation specific to TM4 region, eliminated the specific binding capacity of peripherin-2 with rhodopsin (Becirovic et al,. 2014). Peripherin-2 being a multifunctional protein and mutations in peripherin/RDS gene results in a broad spectrum of retinal disorders like macular dystrophies, cone and cone-rod dystrophies and retinitis pigmentosa. Studying Peripherin/RDS mutations and protein structure elucidates pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these retinal disorders for effective therapeutic intervention (C.J.F. Boon et al,. 2008). Zscan29: At present, very less information is known and available regarding the function, structure and localization of this protein Zscan29. mRNA specific for this protein were found to be expressed in retina through RT- PCR experiments from mice different tissues. In mice 5 different isoforms of this protein were found, with longest isoform having 869 amino acids (aa), and other isoforms were of 834 aa, 548 aa,265 aa,206 aa. The isoform with 265 aa was found to interact with the C- terminus of CNGB1a sub unit of CNG channel. In long isoforms with 869aa and 834aa, a SCAN domain, a DUF2 domain, 2 GT-1 domains and 6 zinc finger domains were found. The scan domain is predicted to be a DNA binding domain and involved in transcription regulation, as this domain in other proteins were also found to be associated as transcription factors. DUF-2 Domain function is unclear and yet to be known, Two GT-1 domains of 79 aa each, were predicted to play a major role in light sensing mechanisms by binding GT trihelix transcription factors. (___citation__). In Arabidopsis GT-1 is predicted to respond to light signals via calcium dependent phosphorylaton, after GT-1 binding to GT cis element of light inducing gene (Bauer et al). Fig: 3 Isoforms of Zscan29 protein with its domains. Aims of this work: Analysis of Peripherin-2 cone mutation V268I: Verification of the interaction of WT peripherin-2 and peripherin-2 with mutation at V268I position with S-opsin, M-opsin and Rhodopsin via co immunoprecipitation from HEK293 cells. Interaction and localization of Peripherin-2, V268I mutation in mouse retina. Analysis of Peripherin-2 mutations at position P210: Verification of the interaction of peripherin-2 protein with mutations at P210 position with wild type Peripherin-2 and its homolog Rom-1 via coimmunoprecipitation from HEK293 cells. In vitro imaging of HEK293 cells expressing peripherin-2 protein with mutation at P210 position. Expression and localization of Peripherin-2, P210L and P210R mutations in mouse retina. Affinity purification of Anti-Zscan29 antibody and checking antibody efficiency.

Screams :: essays research papers

In my mind, it never ends. I can hear myself screaming and begging him to stop. My two year old son is hiding under his bed and shaking because he knows that Daddy is hurting Mommy again. My daughter is crying helplessly in her crib. At six months of age, even she knows that something is wrong. As I stare at the gun through my swollen eyes, I realize that if I make it through the night, I have to get us out of this house. I have to find a safe place for us to hide. I know the police will not help me. They never have. All I can do as I wait for his fists to tire is to think back on my life and wonder where it had gone wrong. As a child, I was enrolled in the Gifted and Talented program, which is the Texas version of Advanced Placement courses. The Daughters of the American Revolution gave me an award for a genealogy project and my team was the only one in the district that made it to the Odyssey of the Mind state-level competitions. I also competed in numerous spelling bees. Between drama class and the National Honor Society, my middle school and junior high school years were busy, but fun. In my junior year of high school, I was informed that I was in the Who’s Who high school edition. I worked after school and enjoyed volunteering at the hospital in the cancer center in my free time. I found myself inspired by their courage and it helped to keep me grounded in my priorities. In 1993, those priorities took a different turn. I realized that I was pregnant. After I got married, I found that the school district frowned upon pregnant students, married or not. I elected to receive my GED and begin college. I was on both the President’s and Dean’s List every semester. I was happy with the choices that I had made. Being a wife was a joy and I had a wonderful son. My husband’s job took him out of town occasionally for a week or two. One day he came home from a trip, and everything had changed. He was acting irrationally and being verbally abusive. He would stay out all night and, when he was at home, nothing could make him happy. I did not know it then, but he had become addicted to drugs and other women.

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown Essay example -- Angels Demons Dan Brow

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown 1.) The main setting takes place in the beautiful, elegant, religious, Vatican City. The story pretty spread out throughout the Vatican in churches, especially St. Peter’s Basilica, museums, the pope’s hidden passageways, offices, and a lot of other interesting places. Vatican City is a beautiful city where an abundant amount of faithful living Catholics are located. This city is also where Christianity originated. In the middle of the entire city lies the most famous church in the entire world, St. Peter’s Basilica. St. Peters is where a lot of important plot factors happen, so it is an important part of the novel. Also, there are an abundant amount of sculptures and artistic works of art across the Vatican, which are important to the story also. The atmosphere of the story is like a wave. The mood rises until it falls, then retreats back, and right as you think the novel is over, the mood rises again and finally drops. The novel is basically a suspense novel be cause of the different effects of the mood. 2.) The setting was a perfect match for the novel because of the topic choice for the plot. It is about the Illuminati brotherhood, an anti-christian group, coming back by making a big entrance by killing four cardinals and the whole Vatican City. In the old days, the Illuminati had used symbology to recruit new members to prevent them from being caught by the Vatican. They guided them to four churches and called it the Path of Illumination. These four churches were used again as a location to kill the four cardinals. The characters used symbology from sculptures, old written documents from scientists, churches, and old sayings to go from church to church. The setting helps the characters become closer to stopping the cardinals from being massacred by giving artistic works of art for symbology. The novel gains interesting factors from this setting because all the sculptures and churches fit exactly into the characters thoughts and beliefs of where to go next. 3.) The novel â€Å"Angels and Demons† is told in the third person. The narrator gives the reader the feeling of being near the characters or even next to them from details and thoughts. It makes them an invisible ghost following the characters through their journey. Telling the novel in third person gives the advantage of a more flexible storyline. The author can ... ... the cardinal hanging from above. Vittoria gets kidnaped and Olvetta dies. Now Langdon is trapped inside with the Illuminatus, who has a gun, and he starts crawling around the pues trying to escape. This action creates suspense because the reader wants to know what will happen. As the scene progresses more suspense is developed in the reader because of the desire to know what will happen next. 11.) A) The title â€Å"Angels and Demons† basically relates to the church as angels and the Illuminati as demons. The church is considered the angels part of the title because of Christianity and the Illuminati are the demons part of the title because of the fact that they were anti-christians. It is a perfect title for the book because it is the shortest way to describe the conflict between the rivaling church and Illuminati. C) The part of the story which I think I will probably remember next year are the parts where the cardinals are branded with the Illuminati brands. Dan Brown describes it so vividly and even shows a picture of what it looks like. The brands being ambigrams is what fascinated me the most because of the fact that you can still read it when you turn you book upside down.

Dell’s Strategic Management Plan Essay -- Computers, Business

Dell, Inc. got its start in 1984 when Michael Dell, a University of Texas student, began building computers for fellow students under the company name PCs Limited (Edwards, 2007). Within the next decade, Dell experienced phenomenal success by pursuing growth through catalog and corporate sales (Hunger, 2006). Dell made technology affordable and in doing so became a fierce competitor in the computer technology industry. However, the company’s disorganized structure could barely support their impressive growth. There are three specific measures of performance that I would have incorporated into Dell’s strategic management plan if I were leading Dell. Furthermore, I would include behavior and output controls in the control system to regulate organizational activities to ensure that they are consistent with company standards of performance. Dell, Inc. pursued an aggressive growth strategy which was met with equally aggressive customer demand. Dell delivered a quality product for a reasonable price and this value that Dell created for their customers was initially unmatched by rival computer companies. In fact, Dell saw this as an opportunity to expand their product line to include items such as printers and software. The company’s sales increased from $389 million in 1989 to $2.9 billion in 1993 (McGraw, 1994). However, the management structure did not grow with the company (McGraw, 1994). Financial results were not analyzed properly and the company was not being strategically managed (Hunger, 2006). Dell’s management team decided to slow their growth initiatives in part by eliminating retails sales of their products (Hunger, 2006). This decision created three distinct problems for the company. First, customers were unhappy that t... ...nagement (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South- Western Cengage Learning. Edwards, O. (2007, August). Baby Dell. Smithsonian, 38(5), 34-36. doi: 131320451 Hunger, D. J. (2006). Dell, Inc. In T. L. Wheelen & J. D. Hunger (12th ed.), Strategic management and business policy (pp. 31-1 – 31-5). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Matthews, J. R. (2011). Assessing organizational effectiveness: The role of performance measures. Library Quarterly, 81(1), 83-110. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. McGraw, D. (1994). The kid bytes back. U.S. News & World Report, 117(23), 70. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Rogers, B. (2006). High performance is more than a dream - it's a culture. T + D, 60(1), 12. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, J. D. (2012). Strategic management and business policy: Toward global sustainability (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Global Education Essay

According to the historical analysis in the 1990s, the global education movement in the United States took on a number of ethnocentric individuality. Largely since of attacks from the political Right, global instructor worked hard to avoid issues that were contentious. In adding up, they frequently strove for what was euphemistically called â€Å"equilibrium. † That is, â€Å"teach concerning other peoples plus condition, but do it ‘patriotically. ‘† It also turn into clear at this time that, as lots of American educators advocated counting the study of global issues in the curriculum, mainly did not particularly think to seek interface by means of educators from around the world who also were concerned through the teaching of global issues. For these reasons, I set out to find out what was being done about the world to comprise global education in the set of courses. I drafted a opinion poll, had it translated into French and Spanish, in addition to sent it to people in 100 countries who were well-informed about global education. Responses were established from 52 countries. No doubt these data have been reported in other researches. In the residue of this research, I will present highlights from this study along by means of updates on what is happening in the state most concerned in the global education group. Definition of Global Education The definition of global education specified to respondents was the one from the 1991 ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) annual, Global Education: From consideration to Action: Global education involves learning concerning those troubles and issues which cut crossways national boundaries and regarding the interconnectedness of systems — educational, environmental, financial, political, and technical. If we analyze then we come to know that global education also involves learning to appreciate and be grateful for our neighbors who have diverse cultural backgrounds from ours; to see the earth through the eyes as well as minds of others; and to realize that extra peoples of the world require and want much the similar things. Local School Vs Global Education Place of work diversity has taken a new face today; workplace diversity focuses on the impact of council’s base line. Not only can it monetarily benefit a council, but also by embracing diversity an organization can augment their ideas, insights, and a variety of pools of talent. Leveraging workplace variety is more and more seen as an essential strategic resource for competitive advantage. More companies are connecting workplace multiplicity to their strategic objective and objects. Greenwich Manufacturing has realized that diversity has an enormous impact and in addressing these issues; the council is implementing a Public Relations (PR) campaign to position itself as a leader in encouraging and promoting diversity in its workplace. This paper will outline Greenwich Borough PR campaign including its defined target audience, an overview of public relations issues, and implications of ethical issues. In addition, Greenwich has implemented a marketing research plan and sought to bring into line its marketing and public relation strategies In several cases, deforestation can be helpful. Given the right mix of social needs, financial opportunities, and environmental circumstances, it can be a rational change from one type of land use to a more prolific one. It can lead to thoroughfare of communication being created. Minerals that bring a state much wanted capital can be used to generate a better life for the peoples of that nation. In the long term these behavior may be fuelling Brazil’s advance into a major deal power. These are far reaching and all surrounding effects. The disaster lies in the fact that mainly lands that have been deforested in current decades are not suited for lasting farming or ranching and they rapidly degrade once the forest has been cut and burnt. Different the fertile soils of temperate latitudes, most tropical forest soils cannot sustain annual cropping. The carrying ability of the soil will not support concentrated annual cropping devoid of rapid, irreversible squalor. Likewise, intensive cattle grazing cannot be supported since grasses grown on forest soils do not have the same productivity levels as those on arable soils. In fact, there are very few forested soils in rising countries today that are obtainable for future agricultural growth, underscoring the urgent need to increase agricultural manufacture on existing farmlands rather than converting additional forests to farms. In global, local, human and economic terms, the tropical forests destroyed each year represent a loss in forest capital valued at US $45 billion (Hansen, 1997). The Hansen report is independent and so a source that can be trusted. By destroying the forests so quickly now and creating a hardwood ‘drought’, all potential future revenues and future employment that could be derived from their sustainable management for timber and non-timber products disappear. Probably the mainly grave and most short-sighted consequence of deforestation is the defeat of biodiversity. It is a result with consequence on every level. The sterile phrase â€Å"loss of biodiversity† (Anne Baker, 2003, p. 1) masks the fact that the yearly obliteration of millions of hectares of tropical forests means the death of thousands of species as well as varieties of plants and animals, numerous of which have never been catalogued methodically. How lots of species are lost every year? The exact research is not recognized, a consequence of our incomplete knowledge of steamy forest ecosystems and our insufficient monitoring systems. Some approximation put the annual loss at 50,000 divide species but this is a cultured guess at best. This gene pool obliteration could be destroying curers to some of today’s most lethal diseases, such as cancer, as we have so little information of the rainforest, but 35% of our medication comes from it. Ethical Considerations It makes good trade sense to be sight as an ethical council, and it benefits the workplace to have an additional optimistic work environment. There are a variety of definitions of ethics. One source states ethics has to do by means of what my feelings tell me is right or wrong or being ethical is doing what the law states. One more ethics theory variety from utilitarianism, states the definition as â€Å"most good for the most number† (Seitel, 2004). In addition to ethics, a corporation has a social blame that is closely related to the ethical conduct. It is a council’s social liability and ethical blame to employee diversity in keep hold of a promoting minorities and women. Employee safety and health is an additional responsibility to give a safe and healthy labor environment have polices in place, accident safeguards and medical facilities (Center, A. H. , Jackson, P. 2002). There is no real safeguard for companies or individuals to be ethical, however there are standards and polices for corporation to put in place, such as an annual code of ethics meeting or acknowledgement to instill the importance of ethics in the workplace (Kitchen, PJ 1997).