Monday, September 30, 2019

IKEA Children Labor Reaction

After the publication of the documentals that showed and proved that IKEA used children labor for the production of it's company in India IKEA was forced to react, to try to stop the media crisis and to be concerned and active to stop children labor in non-developed countries like India. The first reaction when all the information appeared was to deny it, saying that IKEA never contract companies that use children labor to do their products, but they accepted the possibility that maybe the companies they were contracting, sub-contract at the same time other corporations that could have children working for them.The spokesperson for IKEA defended the company, saying the contract with its suplier in the Philippines and India has been suspender, when under-age children were found to be making wicker baskets. But that was only the first reaction but sure not last. From that point IKEA changed the way of acting, taking more seriously this aspect and having it as a principal part of the co mpany and of the foundation IKEA owns. From that IKEA addressed the event and it â€Å"sent a legal team to Geneva to seek input and advice from the International Labor organization on how to deal with the problem.Also the company â€Å"added a clause to all supply contracts, stating simply that if the supplier employed children under legal working age, the contract would be cancelled†. This clause, a two-pages code of conduct, is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). The third thing IKEA decided to do is to contract a Third-party that controls and take care of avoiding child labor practices at its suppliers in India and Pakistan. This action was very profitable for the company because it showed a different point of view and favored good publicity and made thing seem fairer from the public's view.In that way the bussines manager of the corporation did some research with well known organizations like Save the Children ( an organization that received on May 15 of 2012 a pledge of $10 million to end child labor in India cotton industry) or UNICEF to get advice. With all that information the manager could travel around the world, see the real situation and developed a label certifying that the carpets to which it was attached were made without the use of child labor.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Microbiology Chapter 1 Study Guide

Chapter 1 Notes * Robert Hooke * Discovered Cellulae (Cells) * Formed Basis of Cell Theory * 1. Cell basic unit of life * 2. All living organisms are made of cells * 3. Must have living cells to make more cells * Anton Von Leeuwenhoek * Father microbiology & microscopy * Discovered microorganisms (animalcules) * Disproved microorganisms were heaven sent * Put clean bowl out during rainstorm & no microorganism * Let sit * Days later microorganisms formed from air * Ferdinand Cohn Discovered endospores (enable some bacteria to survive adverse environmental conditions) * Why growth occurred in experiments that disproved/proved SG * Louis Pasteur * Definitive experiment that disproved SG * Fermentation * Pasteurization: heat liquid to temp. that kills the most heat resistant pathogen but NOT all (milk) * Vaccination against Rabies (Rhabdovirus), anthrax (bacillusanthracis), Chicken Cholera (bacterium) * Silkworm industry * Disease (protozoan) was killing silk moths * Developed a method t o detect diseased moths and separate * Lady Mary Montagu * Wife British Ambassador to Turkey * Developed Smallpox Observed Turkish women engrafting * Spread mild small pox to other by injecting into their veins * Patient would then be immune to smallpox * Reject because she was woman & not doctor/scientist * Carl Linnaeus * Developed science of taxonomy * Scientific Nomenclature * Binomial nomenclature * Process of giving all organisms 2 scientific names * Genus species * Edward Jenner * Discovered process of vaccination * Worked with cowpox & milkmaids * Milk cowpox scrap pustal scratch skin w/ needle develop mild cowpox immune to smallpox * John Snow * First epidemiologist Traced Cholera epidemic to common H2O pump that was contaminated * Ignaz Semmelweis * Puerperal Fever (child bed fever) major cause of mortality to mothers and infants * Death in midwife ward = low ; death in doctor/med student ward = high * Doctors/med students contact w/ cadavers that previously died from dise ase * Spread disease to living mothers * Required hand washing with chlorite of lime * Joseph Lister * Concerned with incidence of infection and mortality from surgery * Aseptic Surgery = used carbolic acid (phenol) on incision site, instruments, and bandages * John Tyndall Boiling was not sufficient to sterilize broths and agar * Tyndallization Process: * Liquid is heated to boiling (100Â °C) allowed to sit and cool for 24hours * Liquid is reheated to boiling (100Â °C) and then allow to cool and sit for another 24 hours * Repeat * Robert Koch * Developed concept of causative agent of disease (MO cause disease) * Germ Theory of Disease – developed many microbiological techniques, media and procedures * Tuberculin – thought founded vaccine (incorrect) .. use as first step to determine if person has TB * Fanny Hesse * Worked for Robert Koch Used Agar to convert liquid brother to slid medium * Koch’s Postulates (Identifying which bacteria causes which disease) * MO must be present in every case of the disease. Every host must have the same signs and symptoms of the disease * Isolate the microorganism and grow it in pure culture outside the host * Pure culture must be inoculated into a healthy susceptible host. Experimentally infected host must exhibit the same signs and symptoms of the disease * The Microorganism must be reisolated from the experimentally infected host and shown to be identical to the original MO * Paul Ehrlich Concept chemotherapy * Syphilis – Treponema palladium * Compound 606-Salvarsan (Arsenic containing compound) * Alexander Fleming * Accidently discovered antibiotics * Antibiotics = naturally produced compounds that inhibit the growth of other MOs * Working with Staphylococcus aureus (opportunistic pathogen- must be proper conditions to cause infection) * Most antibiotics produced by bacteria, followed by fungi * Martinus Beijerinck * Concept of Viruses * Soil microorganisms-isolated the first soil MOs * Sergei Winogradsky * Sulfur metabolism by microorganisms * Concept of nitrogen fixation * Biochemical cycles Symbiotic relationships * Barbara McClintock * Transposons – cause Maize (jumping genes- genes move themselves and create different color kernals) * James Watson, Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins * Structure of DNA * Molecular biology and genetics * Thomas Brock * Thermophilic microorganisms (high temperature loving microorganisms) * Thermus and Sulfolobus * Lynn Margulis * Endosymbiont Theory * Big prokaryotic cell engulfs little prokaryotic cell * Little survives insides but loses many functions (energy conversion, protein synthesis) * Little becomes mitochondria or chloroplast Eukaryotic Cell evolved * Carl B. Woese * Molecular systematic based on 16sRNA * Improved ability to identify MO * Stanley Prusinier * Discovered Prions * Protenaous Infectious Particles * Luc Montagnier * Discovered human immunodeficiency virus * Barry Marshall and Robin Warren * Causative agent of gastric & peptic ulcers * MO colonize in stomach * Disbelieved b. c stomach is so acidic and has enzymes * Antibiotics cure ulcers * Demonstrated effect pharmaceutical industry & practice of gastroenterology against 2 men

Friday, September 27, 2019

NPV starbucks company Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

NPV starbucks company - Assignment Example beans and ensures profitability in the same through its consistent sale programme that encompasses mail-order business, specialty sales groups, online stores and a chain of supermarkets. Just from few stores at its beginning at around the year 1985 to 20,519 stores as at March 30, 2014, the Starbucks Corporation seems to be more lucrative and financial promising as is widely recognized by the investment capital registered under its name. Starbucks Company went public on June 26th 1992 and started selling its shares at $17 each. It has its shares listed in the NASDAQ with the symbol of SBUX and currently its shares trade at $21.85 each. Based on the economic and political turmoil and tenuous environment witnessed in the market recently, Starbucks has managed to maintain success as a result of its cognizant responsibility to consumers and community while adhering to its guiding principles. This way it has successfully complimented the profitability goal with the corporate social responsibility concept. Currently, the restaurant has a rich diversity of food offerings that are led by the La Boulange bakery items that it recently rolled-out in about 3,500 stores in the US. Additionally, the firm has brand offerings such as Tazo, Evolution fresh, Teavana, Verismo, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Starbucks Refreshers among others (Fellner 125-131). The Starbucks Corporation Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is Howard Schultz, who besides being its founder, is the chairman too. He has been the Chairman to the Board of Directors since inception of the Corporation in 1985 and became CEO to the firm in 2008. Before this, he served as the chief global strategist between 2000 and 2005 in which a robust growth of the number of new stores were observed in the global arena. The executive journey of Mr. Schultz is one that has seen him move from rank to rank in the various phases of the Company’s transformation. For instance, he was the Director of Retail Operations and Marketing for

Operations management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Operations management - Essay Example However, in some situations, intangible factors may lead to the specialization of the company in a certain area. Some of the companies may not be aware of the intangible specialization and are therefore faced with serious problems in their attempt to shift from a certain market segment. Intangible specialization can be simply defined as specialization of a company in a certain area due to some intangible factors mainly brought about by the routinized activities of the company in performing its different operations relating to the production of the main product the company produces. The intangible factors include routinized and path-dependent decision-making routines that help in the regulation of the process and product design and renewal of the product (Maielli, 2005, p. 250). In addition, intangible specialization is mainly concerned with the internal routines and the accumulation of intangible capital in the designing and manufacturing of certain products, making the company effic ient in the production of such products, as well as other products. Intangible specialization may restrict the company in a certain field and hinder its attempt to change the area of its operation. It reduces the output mix flexibility of the company even if the company has technical flexibility in its production technology (Maielli, 2005, p. ... The company should therefore device means of reaping maximum income from the area of specialization, as attempts to shift into other areas will be difficult in most cases. Knowledge of the intangible specialization also helps the company in formulation and application of strategies that will aid the shift to other areas in the supply chain. Intangible specialization is categorized into the evolution theory of economic change. The theory emphasizes the importance and effects of routinized and path-dependent decision-making and output-mix decision-making (Maielli, 2005, p. 250). In addition, intangible specialization usually affects the way a company reproduces the technical skills that aid in the manufacture of certain types of products (Maielli, 2007, p. 285). It usually comes up involuntarily as a response to the domestic market in the area of operation of the company. Intangible specialization may be advantageous or a limitation to the company. This is mainly dependent on the strat egies that the company formulates while factoring in the strengths and weaknesses due to its intangible specialization in a certain area of operation. One of the main benefits of intangible specialization is that it may help a company overcome different financial difficulties if efficient strategies are put in place to enable it to have output-mix optimization in the area where it has intangible specialization. 2. How did Intangible Specialization affect Fiat’s strategy and output-mix optimization in the 1970s? Fiat is an Italian company mainly involved in the manufacture of cars. The company has a strong reputation in the manufacture of city cars, though it also manufactures other types of vehicles. Intangible specialization has made the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Astronomy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Astronomy - Assignment Example Besides, Earth does not comprise uniform layers. Instead, the layers are made up of tectonic plates that can move with respect to each other. When too much heat accumulates in the interior of Earth, it struggles to find its way out, and this has been happening ever since the creation of Earth. The molten lava once emerged on the surface of Earth cools down gradually, thereby getting transformed into huge rocks and mountains. It is this tendency of the Earth’s internal heat to come out that causes the geological activity of the Earth. In addition to that, the relatively large size of the Earth among other terrestrial planets enables it to store a lot of energy / heat in its core which largely comprises iron and the temperature there can be even higher than that of the Sun. The resulting heat ultimately finds its way out through the movement of the tectonic plates thereby resulting in the Earth’s geological

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The History of Gregorian Chant Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The History of Gregorian Chant - Research Paper Example Bewerunge indicates that the name Gregorian chant points to Gregory the Great (590-604), to whom an appealing steady custom ascribes a convinced final understanding of the Roman chant. Most recently, the president of the Brussels music school has tried to prove, that the collection of the Mass music belongs to the end of the seventh or the start of the eighth century with a considerable quantity of learning (1). The Gregorian chant was named after Pope St. Gregory, who was the bishop of Rome and was in power from 590 to 604 AD. According to Catholic custom, it is said that under divine encouragement, Pope St. Gregory composed at least some of the Gregorian chants. Pope St. Gregory, in due course, established a singing school. This was primarily because he wanted the chant to be sung as perfectly as possible. Choir singers and teachers of singing in the skill of chant were taught in this school. Those who were trained from this school were then sent into a variety of countries to teach the chant. Chant was established in the new countries, which transformed as well. This was how ultimately chant became known as Gregorian (Garno p20). People’s ideas about Gregorian chant were summed up in a gracious myth for more than a thousand years. This myth connected the music source to the actions of Gregory the great. The Carolingians put this in pictures. They showed the Holy Spirit, in the appearance of a dove, communicating musical issue to Gregory’s year and Gregory passing it on to writing engraves. At the early stages of antiphonies, Gregory’s work was also illustrated in poems that appeared outstandingly. This concept took hold of Gregorian chant with its eventual background in transmissions that were auditory rather than notational in the mid twentieth century that (Levy p4). Sunol argues that the art of mixing sounds and regulating their extent is what is termed as music in general. Sound is therefore, before all things, the substance

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Case Study - Rumpole Ltd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Case Study - Rumpole Ltd - Essay Example The positive NPV indicates that the company will generate sufficient cash inflows, which will cover the initial investment and generate profits for the company. The payback period is also estimated at 2 23/69 years. The project has a positive NPV and the payback period appears to be reasonable (Kinney & Raiborn, 2008). On the basis of the project evaluation with positive NPV and reasonable payback period, it could be recommended to the company that it should go with the project. Since, the company is currently considering only one project therefore, it will be appropriate for the company to go ahead with the project. Otherwise, the company should consider other projects, which have higher positive NPV and short payback period (Maher et al., 2012). The financing required for the project requires assessment of different types of funding sources available to the company. Since, Rumpole Ltd. is a private company, therefore it will not be possible for the company to acquire its funding from issuance of share capital or debt instrument in the secondary market. The company has two options from which it could raise capital for the net project. These include raising funds from internal equity and / or external debt financing. Internal equity comprises of retained earnings of the company. These earnings are accumulated over the year and disclosed on the face of the company’s balance sheet. These earnings are available to the company for investing into the company’s existing operations or investing in the new project, which the company is considering at the moment (Brigham, 2013). Managing retained earnings require time. In short run, the company will have to manage its working capital. Active recoveries will work a lot. Aging of the receivables should be monitored actively. Buffer levels of inventory should be lowered so that lesser amount is bound in stock. On the other hand, the company can also raise from external sources. The company can

Monday, September 23, 2019

Discuss the concept of The Johari Window as a model for personal and Essay

Discuss the concept of The Johari Window as a model for personal and group development - Essay Example ft and Harry Ingham, who conduct studies on human personal characteristics and how it positively or negatively impacts individual, or group behaviour and interaction. Since different people possess different behaviour attributes, it is necessary to know both individual and group behaviour in the context of work environment, not only for gaining optimum work output, but also to ensure harmonious interaction between different members of the group. Through knowing ourselves deeper, broader and better, especially our interacting and interfacing with others, it is possible to introduce positive personality changes in our outlook and interpersonal relations with others- superiors, peers and subordinate groups. This could bring about more effective communications, greater degree of understanding and empathy with others as well as greater a more constructive and harmonious relations with other individuals in our working place. In the long run, this could reap rich benefits for all members of the force and, more significantly, entire corporate as a whole unified unit. At the first stage, a list of attributes or characteristics are provided to the respondents, from which the respondent has to choose a few attributes which he believed he possesses- these could be adjectives like supportive, noble, patience, tolerance, empathy, caring, helping, modest, etc. The list of what the respondents thinks about himself, and what other peer groups, or members of known circles think about him, are compared and fitted in the appropriate quadrant of the Grid Matrix shown below: The four quadrants mentioned above represent the four possible permutations and combinations in terms of one’s self opinion about oneself vis-à  -vis what others may think about the respondent. â€Å"Each of these regions contains and represents the information - feelings, motivation, etc - known about the person, in terms of whether the information is known or unknown by the person, and whether the information

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Is the Chinese Renminbi Undervalued Essay Example for Free

Is the Chinese Renminbi Undervalued Essay Since July 2005, first time being revalued after 11 years of fixing at 8.27, Chinese Yuan has been heading towards only one direction – all the way from 8.27 to 6.27. Although Yuan is a highly regulated currency by government, Chinese officials could no longer peg the Yuan as it used to be in a closed economy because WTO had opened up doors for Chinese manufacturers in 2001 to export cheap goods and services to developed countries. With trillions of foreign capital flooding into the country, Yuan has appreciated over 30% over seven years. However, this one-way money flow cannot be sustained. Though it is not sure whether Yuan is at the absolute equilibrium, it is currently neither significantly undervalued nor overvalued. This essay is going to explain why Yuan is modestly priced with analysis in both the fundamentals and money flows. Needs for appreciation in past In theory, two open economies should have equivalent purchasing power – that is, if 10 units of foreign currency can buy something that is valued at 1 unit of domestic currency, the implied equilibrium exchange rate should also be 10(domestic as based money). Otherwise, there is an arbitrage opportunity. We call this Purchase Power Parity. In reality, despite some limitations about this theory, it explains most of the valuation problem in China. Take a look at China’s Balance of Payments over 2003-2010 and it is obvious to observe huge surplus annually in both current and capital financial account, accumulating to a foreign reserve of $3.3 trillion. Reach equilibrium? At the government level, on one hand, it had to increase money base to maintain exchange rate against USD at a gradual appreciation pace. On the other hand, it needs to hold huge foreign assets, primarily in USD, to back up its currency from deprecation in the event of capital outflows. Amid the money inflow, Chinese central bank faced mounting pressure of inflation on local assets. The private sectors are impacted in two ways. Firstly, Chinese residents and companies feel much richer now because higher RMB increases their purchase power of foreign assets. This means more imports and capital account outflows. Secondly, inflation and appreciation means that Chinese products and services are more expensive. And this would lead to less exports. Pew Survey showed that 70% of Chinese people feel financially better off than five years ago, which among the best in the world. In the last a few years, the fact of continues Yuan appreciation, associated with stories about how China is cash rich and how Chinese investors are buying everything they can in the world, raises interesting discussion if Yuan had appreciated enough. There is also a trend that more goods are manufactured in new WTO members such as Nepal and Vietnam that have price advantage over China. Moreover, in the currency forward market, investors have priced in modest depreciation for Yuan in the next 12 months and spot market is no longer moving towards one direction. Data shows†¦ All those various observations reveal the same process that drives RMB exchange rate to an equilibrium level. Recent data also suggests that at current FX level, the rise in trade surplus and capital finance account surplus slowed (see chart below). So does foreign reserve. What does it means? If we apply a popular formula: Capital out flow = Foreign Reserve – FDI – Trade surplus Numbers imply that 62.4 – 128.5 – 145.8 = 211.9 billions has flown out of China in the first three quarters of 2012. Although this estimation still lacks of actual evidence, the scale of growth slowing down in foreign reserve in 2012 is worth attention since it is so large that it is hard to be justified by seasonal adjustment or calculation period discrepancy. This might signal the start of reverse capital flows of Yuan, which means Yuan is no longer undervalued. Ultimately†¦ The answer to Yuan’s valuation problem is complex especially given that it is still mostly controlled by government and there are so many dynamic factors to consider. So far there are some money flows and data support the conclusion that Yuan is no longer significantly undervalued. In the long run, as expectation of Chinese government to allow a fully conversion Yuan is built on, maybe the real answer can only be found out by then.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Money Magazine Essay Example for Free

Money Magazine Essay It seems that Baton Rouge, Louisiana is surviving the current real estate crisis better than most cities. According to a Money Magazine article, â€Å"10 Fastest Growing Real Estate Markets† dated May 13, 2008, Baton Rouge was rated number nine. As of the date of the article, Baton Rouge showed a positive one year price change of 5. 7%; and a positive five year price change of 38%; even though the foreclosure rate had increased by 14% in the same time period. (Money, 2008). Some of the price stability in the real estate market there may be attributable to proactive legislation. If we count mortgage fraud as one of the key factors in the current economic crisis, then we can congratulate the state of Louisiana in the steps they took to prevent fraud. Louisiana’s state Office of Financial Institutions (OFI) took action in December of 2007 to join other states in passing legislation to prevent mortgage fraud. Legislators felt that even though there was not a reported high incidence of mortgage fraud, many of Louisiana’s homeowners were especially vulnerable because of the two recent devastating hurricanes, Katrina and Rita. OFI examiners sought legislative funding to assist with communication within its agency; analysis of statistics and tracking cases. Educating the public about mortgage fraud, including foreclosure help scams, became a top priority. The OFI also investigates allegations of fraud such as buyers pretending to purchase a house as an owner occupied dwelling when it is in fact an investment property. Appraisal fraud is also actively investigated. Appraisal fraud occurs when property appraisers inflate the value of a property to obtain a larger mortgage, often at the behest of a lender or mortgage broker. This scam may seem to boost instant equity in the property, but in truth is a huge detriment to homeowners. This type of activity is particularly insidious, because in the event of a market downturn, homeowners often suddenly owe more on their property than the property’s real value. (Thibodeaux, 2007). While researching this paper I became curious as to how foreclosures in Baton Rouge might compare to another city. I chose Hialeah, Florida to compare, because they are similar in size and not too far off in median age. Also, Florida is ranked in the top four states in foreclosure rates. California, Arizona and Michigan are the other three. As of July, 2007, Baton Rouge had a population of slightly over 227,000 residents; and Hialeah had a population of just over 212,000. Median age groups for both areas was between 30 and 37 years old, so neither is strictly a retirement area. The median household incomes for both areas were nearly identical at just over $32,000. per year. The similarities between these two areas ends there. (Citi Data, 2008). According to Zillow there are 66 foreclosures in Baton Rouge and a whopping 1326 foreclosures in Hialeah. I chose to use the information from Zillow rather than Realty Trac. Realty Trac displays as foreclosures properties in any degree of foreclosure; while Zillow displays houses as foreclosures after they have been sold at a foreclosure auction. Realty Trac when they display foreclosures includes as foreclosures any property anywhere on the foreclosure timeline. If a homeowner has been served with a Notice of Default or a Lis Pendens, it shows up on Realty Trac as a foreclosure. Some of these properties will not be sold at a foreclosure auction. There are many things that can happen between the time a homeowner is served with a foreclosure complaint and the auction at the county court house. A homeowner may remedy the foreclosure by paying all past due payments. The property may be sold as a short sale after a homeowner has received the foreclosure complaint. A short sale cures a foreclosure. Similarly, a homeowner may successfully negotiate a mortgage loan modification after having been served with a foreclosure complaint. A loan modification changes the terms of a mortgage loan to make it more affordable for the homeowner. Lenders have many tools at their disposal to make changes to the terms of the mortgage loan. It is within the lender’s power and discretion to lengthen the loan period for the mortgage, say from a 30 year mortgage to a forty year mortgage and adding the missed payments to the end of the loan period. This provides the homeowner with some immediate relief and the lender does not lose. Or a lender has the ability to change the terms of a mortgage from an adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate; or simply change the rate to a lower interest rate. Lenders also have within their power to reduce the principle of the mortgage loan, although lenders are understandably reluctant to do so. (Zillow, 2008). Besides the actual number of foreclosures in Baton Rouge and Hialeah there are also some other striking differences between their respective housing markets. Even though the median household incomes for both areas is nearly identical the median home prices are very different. In Baton Rouge the median home price in 2007 was $142,000. ; and the median home price in Hialeah for the same time period was $245,000. amounting to over a $100,000 difference. The rate of appreciation in the two housing markets also provides some insight as to why one area is so rife with foreclosures and the other is not. In Baton Rouge the median home price was $93,000 in 2000. The increase to $142,000. in 2007 represents about 5% appreciation per year over seven years. By contrast, Hialeah saw an increase from a median home price in 2000 of $102,000. to more than double over 100% in the same time period, which is around a 20% per year rate of appreciation. It is small wonder that so many homes in Hialeah have gone to foreclosure auction. (Citi Data, 2008). When I plugged the different principle amounts into a simple mortgage calculator and used an optimistic 6. 5% interest rate, and a 30 year fixed mortgage loan; the results were remarkable. The homeowner in Baton Rouge would pay $897. 54 per month for his $142,000. home; and the homeowner in Hialeah would pay $1,548. 57 for his $245,000. home. Both homeowners are working with nearly identical incomes. After researching the literature and the data collected for this paper, I wondered whether mortgage fraud played a large role in Hialeah, Florida’s foreclosure rate. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Florida is one of the states where mortgage fraud is most common, and Louisiana is not mentioned in their report. The FBI defines mortgage fraud as the â€Å"intentional misstatement, misrepresentation, or misstatement by an applicant or other interested parties, relied on by a lender or underwriter to provide funding for, to purchase, or to insure a mortgage loan. † (FBI, 2007). â€Å"Analysis of available information indicated that mortgage fraud was most concentrated in the north central region of the United States. Data from law enforcement and industry sources were compared and mapped to determine which mortgage fraud states for 2007 were Florida, Georgia, Michigan, California, affected by mortgage fraud according to available sources included Arizona, Connecticut. † (FBI, 2007). Mortgage fraud is described as a low-risk, high yield white collar crime. Individuals in finance related occupations such as mortgage brokers, lenders, and accountants were most likely to engage in mortgage fraud. These perpetrators, since they are familiar with the mortgage loan process are best positioned to exploit the process’ vulnerabilities. Victims of mortgage fraud may not only include the borrower and the lender, but entire surrounding neighborhoods as well. If foreclosure rates due to high incidence of mortgage fraud, such as artificially high appraisals, the effect is that the surrounding neighborhoods values also begin to decline. (FBI, 2007). It seems clear that there are a couple of important factors that explain the differences in rates of foreclosures in the two cities examined, Hialeah, Florida and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. First, Louisiana government took steps to prevent mortgage fraud before it ever became rampant. Second, Louisiana enjoyed a relatively modest appreciation in home values during the boom years, home prices never exceeded an amount that a family living within their means could afford. The opposite is true in Florida. In fact, Florida rated number one in the incidence of mortgage fraud in 2006 and 2007. It is simple enough to imagine that appreciate rates in double digits could not last forever. If the galloping rate of appreciation during the real estate boom years was caused by mortgage fraud then the house of cards was destined to finally collapse. References Citi Data (2008). Baton Rouge and Hialeah. Retrieved December 11, 2008. http://www. city-data. com/city/Baton-Rouge-Louisiana. html http://www. city-data. com/city/Hialeah-Florida. html Daily Report (2008). Baton Rouge ranks near bottom for foreclosure activity Oct. 23, 2008 Retrieved December 10, 2008. http://www. businessreport. com/archives/daily-report/2008/oct/23/667/ Federal Bureau of Investigation (2007). â€Å"Mortgage Fraud Report† Retrieved December 10, 2008. http://www. fbi. gov/publications/fraud/mortgage_fraud07. htm Thibodeaux, Anna (2007). Buyers Beware. December 17, 2007. Retrieved December 11, 2008 http://www. businessreport. com/news/2007/dec/17/buyers-beware-fnc1/ Zillow (2008). Retrieved December 11, 2008. http://www. zillow. com/homes/map/Hialeah,-Florida_rb/ http://www. zillow. com/homes/map/Baton-Rouge,-Louisiana

Friday, September 20, 2019

Galileo Galilei And His Impact Theology Religion Essay

Galileo Galilei And His Impact Theology Religion Essay Galileo Galilei was a pioneer of modern science during a time period that revolved around religion, causing the great debate of religion versus science. His effect on his time period changed how people thought about the world and introduced science to everyone, rather than just the wealthy. His lasting accomplishments have made him one of the most influential scientists in world history. He made astounding discoveries in astronomy, mathematics, and physics; many of which are still used today. Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy in 1564. He was born to a noble family but had financial struggles which his father, an accomplished lutenist, tried to fix by giving music lessons (Fermi, 1996). Galileo had displayed an exemplary ability to learn at an early age, and his father decided that Galileo should attend the University of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany (Fermi, 1996). During his time at school, Galileo became interested in natural processes and science, and his life as one of the most renowned scientists ever had begun. During the 16th and 17th centuries when Galileo lived, the Scientific Revolution was slowly gaining more influence. The revolution began with Nicolas Copernicus with his heliocentric ideas and ended with Sir Isaac Newton and the discovery of multiple natural laws (Hatch, 2002). The reason this explosion of scientific discovery was known as a revolution was due to the radical ideas that scientists had put forth in relation to the ideas the Church had established in Western civilization. Before the Scientific Revolution began, the general understanding of the world was solely based on religion. The Revolution allowed people to replace their religious belief with facts and reason. This was not an easy transition, however, because religion and science have opposing ideals and during the Scientific Revolution these ideals clashed. The Roman Catholic Church, the largest and most influential Christian Church throughout history, had massive influence in Western civilization in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Church dominated most of the Western social life as their interpretation of the bible was the only accepted explanation to natural occurrences in the world (Hatch, 2002). Most scientific theories at the time were proposed by theologians, and all science that was taught was through the texts of these theologians and was universally accepted as true (Newall, 2005). Aristotle and Ptolemy were also referenced heavily in the Church. Church influence had begun to wane early in the 1500s, however, because of the Protestant Revolution and the rise of scientific theories proposed by scientists. These scientists, such as Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei, had done experiments and discovered that their results didnt match up with the Churchs results. This led to a conflict between scientific and theological scien ce (Newall, 2005). The beginning of the differences between accepted scientific laws given by the Church and the actual scientists began with the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus and his De Revolutionibus, a book that explained that the earth revolved around the sun. Copernicus was timid about publishing the book because it went against almost 1400 years of the belief that the earth was the center of the universe, and the sun revolved around it (Fermi, 1996). Unfortunately for Copernicus, his book was very difficult to understand and did not gain any popularity. The small group of scientists that could understand Copernicus book would usually lecture about it, as it proposed more factual evidence as opposed to the theological teachings (Fermi, 1996). These scientists who agreed with Copernicus were known as Copernicans, and sought to spread his ideas. One of the most prominent Copernicans was Galileo Galilei. Before Galileo began his research on the Copernican Theory, he conducted experiments on laws of motion. Galileo was taught Aristotelian science, which was very inaccurate at the time. Galileo believed that Aristotles theory that objects fall according to their weight was false, so he publicly demonstrated an experiment where he dropped a large ball and a small ball from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, noting that they landed at about the same time (Drake, 1980). Galileo states the difference in his experiment and Aristotles in his book De Motu (meaning On Motion), stating Aristotle says that a hundred-pound ball falling from a height of a hundred cubits hits the ground before a one-pound ballà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I say they arrive at the same time. You find, on making the test, that the larger ball beats the smaller one by two inchesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Speaking only of my tiny error, remain silent about his enormous mistake (Drake, 1980). Galileo called this the Law of Falling Bodies, stating that objects fall with the same acceleration (Drake, 1980). This was the precursor to Isaac Newtons first law of motion, which is still accepted today. Galileo made other great strides in physics and mathematics before he moved onto different subjects in science. Galileo has shown his mathematical skill when he created his military compass, or sector. This sector consisted of two rulers and an axis, and was used for many mathematical calculations (Fermi 1996). The sector was able to do many mathematical problems similar to our calculators today. During the sixteenth century, when there were many wars going on, it was especially helpful in military situations, such as figuring the formation of an army, the weight and arc of a cannonball, or the incline of certain environments (Fermi, 1996). This led to the sector being known as the military compass. In the early 1600s Galileo became interested in the invention of the early magnifying glass. He attempted to make his own version of the magnifying glass, and according to Stillman Drake (1996), he reasoned that one of the two lenses must be convex and the other concave, and on fitting such a spectacle lenses in a lead tube he found that it worked (pg. 46). His first magnifying glass was powerful enough to see ships approaching a couple of hours before they could be seen by the naked eye (Drake, 1980). After many hours of grinding and experimenting with different lenses, Galileo was able to create the first telescope. With his telescope, which was incredibly powerful for the time period, Galileo began his career as an astronomer. In May of 1609, Galileo used his telescope to look at the moon. He discovered that, contrary to everyones belief, the moon had mountains and craters all over it. Soon by January 1610, he had improved his telescope to be able to see Jupiter. Galileo noticed objects revolving around Jupiter and discovered them as moons (Shea, 2003). This was a huge step for Galileo in proving that the earth revolved around the sun and that the earth had a moon that revolved around it. After Galileo made his discovery, he published an article, saying: Here we have a powerful and elegant argument to remove the doubts of those who accept without difficulty that the planets revolve around the sun in the Copernican system, but are so disturbed to see the Moon alone revolve around the earth while accompanying it in its annual revolution about the Sunà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ our eyes show us four stars that wander around Jupiter, as does the Moon around the earth and these stars together with Jupiter describe a large circle around the Sun in a period of twelve years. (Shea, 1993) As Galileo observed the skies more frequently, he made more discoveries that proved Copernicanism was correct. While he made these discoveries, the Church had begun to persecute Galileo. Galileos work was censored by the Church while he published, so many of his studies werent completely published. The reason that Galileo was persecuted as opposed to other scientists before him was because of his ability to write in common Italian (as opposed to Latin) in a popular tone. This allowed everyone from scientists to bakers to read his works, and his works became immensely popular and were translated into several languages (Fermi, 1996). Because these works were so popular, it weakened the Churchs influence rapidly, forcing them to put Galileo under house arrest for the rest of his life. Galileo lived almost 400 years ago, but his contributions to science and astronomy have made a lasting impression on our world today. His creation of the telescope and his studies of the universe completely revolutionized how we view space, and without him it might have taken longer for mankind discover the earth revolves around the sun. Galileo was also able to make great strides in physics, such as discovering that everything that falls will fall at a uniform rate. Many people credit Newton with discovering this law of physics as it is stated as Newtons First Law of Motion, but Galileo was the one responsible for creating the first experiments to prove the law true. Galileo was also one of the first scientists to take a stand against theological thinking and promote scientific evidence, which is still a conflict that exists today. Considering Galileos accomplishments throughout his life, he is one of the most important and influential scientists in world history.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Citizenship and The French Revolution Essay -- European History Resear

Citizenship and The French Revolution The French Revolution of 1789 changed the meaning of the word â€Å"revolution.† Prior to this year, revolution meant restoring a previous form of government that had been taken away. Since then, revolution has meant creating a new institution of government that did not previously exist. This required that a constitution be drafted. After a series of four mini-revolutions from May to July, the â€Å"Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen† was released on the twenty-sixth of August, 1789. When the French revolutionaries drew up the Declaration, they wanted to end the traditions surrounding hereditary monarchy and establish new institutions based on the principles of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment brought the application of scientific laws and formulas to society through the use of observation and reason rather than religion or tradition. The Declaration â€Å"brought together two streams of thought: one springing from the Anglo-American tradition of legal a nd constitutional guarantees of individual liberties, the other from the Enlightenment's belief that reason should guide all human affairs. Reason rather than tradition would be its justification.†1 â€Å"Men are born and remain free and equal in rights,† began the â€Å"Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen,† a document that was supposed to be applicable to all Frenchmen. But did the Declaration really apply to the Jews, Black African slaves, and women in the same respect as it applied to its creators, and was it even intended to do so? Historians have taken diverse approaches to the study of the French Revolutionary era. Perhaps this is because the French Revolution impacted different groups of people in quite contradictory ways. The interests o... .... PRIMARY SOURCES Hunt, Lynn, ed.. The French Revolution and Human Rights: A Brief Documentary History. Boston, New York: Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press, 1996. Very useful collection of primary sources including from the French Revolution including The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen and the Declaration of Rights of Woman among others, with good biographical references. WEBSITES Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution. Washington, D.C.: the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, and New York: the American Social History Project at the City University of New York, supported by the Florence Gould Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. American Social History Productions, Inc., 2001. [cited 4 November 2001.] Available from the World Wide Web: (http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/index.html.)

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Brains before Beauty in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre Essay -- Jane Eyr

Brains before Beauty  in   Jane Erye    Beauty is generally classified into two main categories: physical and mental. In the Charlotte Bronte's Jane Erye, the protagonist rejects by choice and submission, her own physical beauty in favor of her mental intelligence and humility, and her choice becomes her greatest benefit by allowing her to win the hand of the man of her desires, a man who has the values Jane herself believes in. She values her knowledge and thinking before any of her physical appearances because of her desire as a child to read, the lessons she is taught and the reinforcements of the idea appearing in her adulthood. During the course of the novel she lives at five homes. In each of these places, the idea of inner beauty conquering exterior appearance becomes a lesson, and in her last home she gains her reward, a man who loves her solely for her mind. She reads against her cousins wishes as a child at Gateshead, learns to value her intelligence as a child at the Lowood Institution, her mind and humilit y win the heart of Mr. Rochester at Thornfield Manor, she earns St. John's marriage proposal at Marsh's End, and in the end she wins her prize of Mr. Rochester's hand in marriage at Ferndean Manor. Jane Erye spent the beginning of her childhood at her Aunt's house, where she struggles to become more intelligent by reading books. Jane wants to learn, even though her cousin insists: "You have no business to read our books; you are a dependent" (pg. 42). Shortly after being struck for reading, she lays in bed and requests: "Gulliver's Travels from the library. This book I had again and again perused with delight" (pg. 53). Her ambition to read and better herself meets opposition from her cousins, yet she continu... ...f Love in Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. David Lodge, Fire and Eyre: Charlotte Brontà «'s War of Earthly Elements Fraser, Rebecca. The Brontes. 1st ed. New York:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Crown Publishers, 1988.    Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. 3rd ed. New York: The Modern Library. Bronte, Charlotte. "Charlotte Bronte's Letters". New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1971. Diedrick, James.   Newman on the Gentleman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/hypertext/landow/victorian/vn/victor10.html. Diedrick, James.   Jane Eyre and A Vindication   of the Rights of Woman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://spider.albion.edu/fac/engl/diedrick/jeyre1.htm. Dickerson, Vanessa D. Victorian Ghosts in the Noontide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.system.missouri.edu/upress/fall1996/dickerso.htm. Brownell, Eliza. Age Difference in Marriage: The Context for Jane Eyre   

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Mental Health issues in Adults Essay

Mental health is defined in Healthy People 2020 as encompassing the ability to engage in productive activities and fulfilling relationships with other people, to adapt to change and to cope with adversity (USDHHS, 2010). In the United States nearly 57.7 Million adults (18 years and above) suffer from a mental health disorder in a given year and 6% of the population suffers from a serious mental illness (NIMH, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to look into the perspective of how best one can advocate for mental health disorder as a population health issue through various strategies including policy change. Population Health Issue and Population Affected Mental health disorders have no boundaries and affect all people without regard to gender, race or age. They are the leading cause of disability in North America (WHO, 2008b). Despite the staggering number of people with mental health disorders, only 25% obtain help in any part of the health care system, while the majority receives no specialty mental health care. It is unrealistic to have a goal of â€Å"decreasing the prevalence of mental illness† because mental illness by its nature is a complex bio psychosocial disorder and any stressful event in life may be the cause of mental health problem and everyone is susceptible to it. According to Byers et al. the number of people age 55 and above suffering from mood or anxiety disorders has been increasing for the last two decades and it has a trend of doubling itself every five years. This alarming trend will soon become a public health crisis as a large number of â€Å"baby boomer† generation ages. The increasing number of returning veterans is also another dimension to this crisis. A study conducted by RAND Corporation found that nearly twenty percent of servicemen and women returning from recent wars have some form of mental health condition (RAND, 2008). The estimated societal costs for the veterans based on prevalence and two years of treatment is estimated between $4.0 to 6.2 million. Advocacy Programs Researched in This Area The impact of mental illness on overall health and productivity in the US is often under recognized. There are many reasons for this under recognition; mainly the misunderstanding of the illness itself, lack of resources, stigma, or lack of social support can be cited. The World Health Organization (WHO) in recognition of the need for adequate resources launched a mental health initiative called Mental Health Global Action Program (mhGAP) to raise awareness and address a variety unmet needs. Other than WHO, consumer advocacy groups such as the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) deserve the credit for the advances made in the treatment of mental illness. The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Act otherwise known as the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) was signed into law in 2008. The main goal of this Act is to eliminate unequal health treatment practice that has kept individuals from seeking mental health care for a long time. The way this law works it that it does not force group health plans to cover mental health benefits, however when plans cover mental health, it requires that they provide full and equal benefit in a way that is no more restrictive than all other medical and surgical procedures covered by the plan. Effective Attributes of the Programs MHPAEA has had quite an impact on the population since it went in effect in 2010. For starter, the statute does not require for employers to buy mental health benefits and employers with less than 50 employees are exempt of this statute. The second important point is that MHPAEA stipulates that any State law that provides greater protections than MHPAEA may continue to remain in effect. The last stipulation is great because it stops the Federal law (MHPAEA) from overriding a State law assuming that it protects its constituents better. Unfortunately some employers have taken MHPAEA as an excuse to drop mental health benefits in its entirety. The Screen Writers Guild was the first employer to announce its decision to drop mental health coverage for its 12000 employees. Some employers followed suit citing rising cost of insurance and burden on employers. NAMI argues cutting mental health benefits has higher cost to employers. According to NAMI most mental illnesses are highly treatable. For example, the most common mental illness in the United States is depression. The prevalence of depression is estimated to be 1 in 10 individuals of which 75% do not get the diagnosis nor the treatment. 72% are estimated to be in the workforce. NAMI estimates the indirect loss to employers amounts to 79 billion per year out of which 63 billion reflect loss of productivity due to mental illness. Mental illness causes more days of work loss and work impairement than chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, back pain and heart disease (NAMI, 2012). NAMI also claims that within two weeks of treatment 70 to 90% of individuals with depressions see a significant reduction of symptoms with and improved quality of life therefore it would be wise for employers to provide employees mental health coverage than incur costs for absenteeism. Health Advocacy Plan and Objectives for the Policy Implemented The very first step of making a health advocacy plan is to review and understand the existing health plans and be able to establish how they impact on the patients, health care providers and other stakeholders like insurers and the leaders (Jonas & Kovner, 2011). The next step is to establish the pros and cons of having such health plans (Jonas & Kovner, 2011). This would then influence a particular advocacy plan and the objectives of the policy. The objectives should take into account the prime position played by politicians in policy change (Alberta Heath Services, 2009). To effectively advocate for mental health, one needs to understand what is actually available. The facts are as follows: The US Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 47 Million of Americans are uninsured and out of this number 25% of them suffer from mental health or substance abuse disorder or a combination of the two. 1/3 of insured individuals have no coverage of both including outpatient therapy visits and inpatient crisis intervention. Then there is MHPAEA that exempts small groups therefore individuals insured under small group market may not have mental health coverage (unless the employer chose to provide one). The HHS estimates that about 95 percent of those with small group market coverage have substance abuse and mental health benefits (HHS, 2012). Communication to Various Stakeholders Communication in the public health sector can be done in several forms including through the mass media, seminars, schools, and churches and depending on the situation, place and target group, several methods can be used including posters, speeches, skits and literature among others. As a policy oriented approach, it divides the target audience into primary, secondary and tertiary. The primary target addresses the organizations, groups and people with the power to effect change. The secondary target is represented by those who can be mobilized to participate in the implementation. The tertiary target is the general public (Alberta Heath Services, 2009). In effect, therefore, mass media as means of advocacy help the organizations and the general public to make better health choices. The approach of communication NAMI took is to involve all three targets. The tertiary target i.e. the general public has also been the focus of NAMI especially because of the link between mental illness and substance abuse. Efforts to raise awareness are underway especially in the DC metro area where frequent walks organized by NAMI are happening. The aim of NAMI walks is to raise awareness of mental health and well-being in communities and to improve the general understanding of the illness, and reduce the misunderstandings and stigma associated with it. NAMI educates and trains practitioners and patients of the different pathways to recovery. Health practitioners, especially nurses get a larger opportunity to educate about the disease in their area of practice and also be the voices for the patients who do not have a voice. Data and Evidence to Substantiate Proposed Need The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is commonly referred to as the ObamaCare, has become regarded as a historical law ever since it was signed into the law in March 23rd, 2010 by President Obama (American Public Health Association, 2013). ACA built on the structures of MHPAEA to expand coverage of mental health and substance use disorder for more than 62 million Americans in the following three ways: 1.Essential Health Benefits Mental health and substance use disorders will be part of all individual and small group market â€Å"non-grandfathered† insurance plans (essential health benefits) effective January 1st 2014. â€Å"non-grandfathered† means plans that were not in existence before ACA was signed into law. This statute ensures that at least 5.1 million individuals (3.9 million currently covered in the individual market and 1.2 covered in small group plans) and will gain either mental health or substance use disorder coverage or both. 2.Parity in the Individual and Small Group Markets Under the ACA and the MHPAEA 7.1 million Americans currently covered in the individual market who currently have some mental health and substance use disorder benefits will have access to coverage of Essential Health Benefits comparable to their general and surgical medical coverage. 3.Increasing Access to Quality Health Care Finally, the ACA will expand essential health benefits insurance coverage to an estimated 27 million uninsured Americans through access to insurance market places and CMS. The essential Health Benefits packages includes mental health services In total, the Affordable Care Act will expand federal parity protection to at least 62 million Americans. Application of Attributes of Effective Advocacy Programs to Proposed Campaign Among many other health-care policies that have proved to be workable, Obamacare turned out to have adequate advantages that can be borrowed and applied in this campaign. Obamacare health policy emphasizes on quality health-care and not quantity. For instance, doctors and other health-care professionals are paid according to the quality of health service they provide (Obama Care Facts, 2013). Obamacare also highlights the importance of non-discrimination in the provision of health services across the entire population, thus ensuring uniformity in its application. One yet another vital attribute that is also of importance is the reduction of costs for preventive health-care options. This ensures that options explored by the general public are not exploitative and overburdening to them (Obama Care Facts, 2013). Obamacare has also been to a greater degree people-driven, as the citizenry have been effective in pushing their political leaders to support the health plan (Obama Care Facts, 2013). It does not take rocket science to know that mental health and substance abuse disorder patients would benefit tremendously from such a program. Impact of Existing Laws or Regulations The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act legislation contained several health reforms provisions that were already being rooted for by a number of health stakeholders including American Public Health Association (APHA) and other population health experts (APHA, 2013). Following the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, there has been a shift from the focus on treatment of the sick to the focus on promoting people’s health (APHA, 2013). The ACA and HP2020 have a common goal which is to create social and physical environments that promote health and wellness in all populations. The ACA will be effective in January 2014, so far the program looks very promising and the statute have been found to have very little impact on the employer-based insurance with a projected slight increase (2.7% only), especially with regard to the high end employers. However, there appears to be a decrease for the low end employers (Blumberg et al., 2012) contrary to what the critics of ACA are speculating. Analysis of Methods Used to Influence Policy Makers According to Milstead (2013), for nurses to succeed in advocating for the enactment of new and better policies, it is imperative that they strike a working relationship with the government agencies, officers as well as with the elected officials. This way the nurses have the chance to be recognized as having what it takes to effect policies concerning population health issues, and this will thus be included in making decisions concerning population health matters (Milstead, 2013). Establishing such a cordial relationship would be instrumental in helping both parties, namely the nurses and the policy makers to be able to review existing health policies and enact better campaigns (Milstead, 2013). Other than striking a rapport with the political leaders, the nurses should also strive to enhance their understanding of the policy-making process through the nursing internships that were already put in place by the nursing organizations (Milstead, 2013). Anticipated Obstacles and Strategies According to the online article by Alberta Health Services (2009), several challenges abound when it comes to advocating for population health. The leading and most obvious problem lies in the main aim of advocacy, which is to effect legislations that would then lead to changes in policies. This is the case since the policy change is highly a political issue whose process results in public tensions (Alberta Health Services, 2009). Almost all legislative changes and implementations are funded by the public resources, and, therefore, any suggested changes are often contested (Alberta Health Services, 2009). Further still, these changes often have economic consequences as well. As a result, more often than not population health advocates together with the like-minded politicians and members of the public of good will find themselves at the receiving end on the part of various interest groups who wish to maintain the status quo (Alberta Health Services, 2009). Obamacare, which seeks to provide preventive services also covered in insurance plans and to ascertain that people with insurance covers are not dropped while sick, has for instance, faced several obstacles mainly from the stakeholders in the insurance industry (Obama Care Facts, 2013). Anybody who wishes to conduct a successful advocacy for mental health and substance abuse disorders must be prepared to deal with all these obstacles, especially given that most insurance companies would be less willing to cover against mental health. View as multi-pages

Monday, September 16, 2019

Operation Managerment

I. Discussion and Review Question: 1. Briefly describe the term operations management? Answer: Operations Management is management of system or processes that create goods or provide service. The term operations management includes interrelated activities such as forecasting, capacity planning, scheduling, managing inventories, assuring quality, motivating employees, and deciding where to locate facilities and more. 2. Identify the three major functional areas of business organization and briefly describe how they interrelate?Answer: The three major functional areas of business are finance, operations and marketing. Finance is responsible for securing financial resources at favorable prices and allocating those resources throughout the organization, as well as budgeting, analyzing investment proposals and providing funds for operations. Moreover, operations function is responsible for producing products and delivering services and it needs the support as well as input from others are as of the organization such as finance and marketing.And finally, marketing is responsible for assessing consumer wants and needs, as well as selling and promoting goods or services. Marketing and Operations are the primary or line function. 3. Describe the operations function and the nature of the operations manager’s job? Answer: Operations is responsible for producing the goods or providing the service offered by the organization. Therefore, the nature of the operations manager’s job is to guide the system by decision making. Certain decision affects the design of the system, and others affect the operation of the system.System design involves decisions that relate to system capacity, the geographic location of the facilities and acquisition of equipment. 4. List five important differences between goods production and service operation; then list five important similarities? Answer: Five important differences between good production and service operation are degree of customer contact, uniformity of input, labor content of jobs, uniformity of output and measurement of productivity. Five important similarities: both goods production and service operation involve design and operating decisions.Goods production must decide what size factory is needed and service operations must decide what size building is needed. Both must make decisions on location, work schedules, capacity and allocation of scare resources. 5. Briefly discuss each of these term related to the historical evolution of operations management: industrial revolution, scientific management, interchangeable parts and division of labor. Answer: Industrial Revolution began in 1770s in England and spread to the rest of Europe and to the United States during the 19th century.Then, a number of innovations in the 18th century changed the face of the production forever by substituting machine power for human power. A major change occurred that gave the Industrial Revolution a boost: the deve lopment of standard gauging systems. This greatly reduced the need for custom-made goods. Factories began to spring up and grow rapidly, providing the jobs for the countless people who were attracted in large number form rural areas. Scientific Management era brought widespread changes to the management of the factories.The movement was spearheaded by the efficiency engineer and inventor Frederick Winslow Taylor. Taylor believed in a â€Å"science of management† based on observation, measurement, analysis, and improvement of work method, and economic incentives. Interchangeable parts are parts of a product made to such precision that they do not have to be custom fitted. Division of labor means the breaking up of production process into small tasks, so that each worker perform small portion of the overall job. II. Critical Thinking Exercise: 1.Many organizations offer a combination of goods and service to their customers. As you learned in this chapter, there are some key dif ferences between production of goods and delivery of service. What are the implications of these differences relative to managing operation? Answer: It is good to combine between goods and service to their customers. Although goods is physical items produced by business organizations and services include activities that provide some combine of time, location, from, and psychological value, goods and services have a relationship to increase number of customers.Beside the company sell the goods, the company need to take care customer with services. It helps the customers trust and pleasure the goods as much as possible. Nowadays, the sale department and customer services department have to connect together to get profit and have potential customers. A good example for that is coffee shop. When you sell cups of coffee for customer, customers not only concern taste as well as the quality of coffee, but also they concern how they are serviced, the coffee is brought quickly or not.Therefo re, it is necessary to combine and improve quality of goods and services. III. Case: Hazel 1. In what ways are Hazel’s customers most likely to judge the quality of her lawn care services? Answer: Most Hazel’s customers judge the quality of her lawn care service depend on the way Hazel take care, how long she take care their garden, after Hazel take care, how their garden look, it is beautiful or not. For example, when Hazel mows lawns, she use good material, she work carefully and finish her job on time. It makes her customers satisfy and her job is considered successfully. 3.What are some the trade-offs that Hazel probably considered related to: Working for a company instead of for herself, Expanding the business, Launching the website: Answer: a. Working for a company instead of for herself: If Hazel continues to find the job, she can find the good and satisfy job. However, she will not realize that she can be able to manage and do business. She can continue lose th e job and she have to find other the job. She can earn less money with her job than her business. b. Expanding the business: When Hazel expand the business, there are some trade-offs for her.Firstly, she has to spend more money instead of saving her money in the account bank. Secondly, it takes long time for her to do business, and she does not enough time to take care her family. And finally, her business can be unsuccessful and she can lose many things. c. Launching the website: The biggest trade-off for launching the website is her time. When she has the website, there are a lot of customers knows her business. The problem can be that she does not have enough time to cover, if she does not have enough employees.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Problems Related to Population Growth

Population growth is a major issue within today’s world, with the rapid and exponentially increasing rate of population growth causing problems with overcrowded areas affecting the business environment as well as everyday life. The world’s population is at an estimated 7 billion people (BBC, 2011) and ‘at today’s rate, population would skyrocket by 2100, to 27 billion from today’s 7 billion’. (Harvard Gazette, 2012). Sourced from BBC (2013)The above diagram shows the extent of the increase in the rate of population growth from the year 500B.C. to a forecasted 8. 5 billion people in 2025. This highlights that, by 2025 the world’s population is on track to more than treble since 1950. This increase in population growth over the last 200 years could be attributed to an increase in fertility, for example, ‘just over 723,000 babies were born in England and Wales in 2010, up from fewer than 600,000 in 2000. The average number of childre n each woman is likely to have has gone up from 1. 64 to 1. 98. ’ (Daily Mail, 2012).This increase in fertility has not been coupled with an increase in the death rate which, due to factors such as ‘better medicines and improved sanitation’ (Brooks, Weatherstone and Wilkinson, 2011, p. 169) and more stringent health and safety procedures, has actually declined as ‘many of the once incurable diseases have cures today. ’(Buzzle, 2012). The increased population growth has brought with it many problems, for example in China the necessity for increased production to satisfy demand from a higher population has put strain on resources as well as producing high levels of pollution which is a negative externality.This has resulted in a law being passed restricting the number of children a family can have to 1 per couple. Another problem with population growth is that more housing is necessary to accommodate increased numbers of people. This has resulted in la nd that is used or could be used for farming being converted into housing. This is particularly disadvantageous because as Malthus’ theory suggests, the population is growing faster than the food supply.He theorises that the extra people must die, whereas Ester Boserup argued that ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ and asserted that the increase in population pressure acts as an incentive to developing new technology such as genetically modified crops (Rogers, Jalal & Boyd, 2008, p. 20). This has given rise to ethical debates concerning the use of disease-resistant, higher yielding modified crops which have been produced to cope with the increased population’s demand.Also with this loss of land comes extinction of species due to their natural habitats being destroyed. A further issue with fast population growth is that with increased population comes increased poverty and inequality. The poorest most impoverished of the population don’t have acc ess to adequate birth control which means they are continuing to reproduce whilst having the same small amount of resources, this is leading to malnutrition and infant mortality, as well as adding strain to the already inadequate educational and healthcare systems.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Culture Acceptance of Homosexuality in the African-American Culture Essay

Different factions of sociologists depict men. Functionalists suggest that a division of labor originally arose between man and women because of the woman’s role in reproduction. By virtue of their larger size and greater muscular strength, men were assigned hunting and defense tasks. Conflict theorists reject functionalist arguments as simply offering a rationale for male dominance. They contend that a sexual division of labor is a social vehicle devised by men to assure themselves of privilege, prestige, and power in their relationships with women. By relegating women to the home, men have been able to deny women those resources they need to succeed in the larger world. Others say that the fundamental motive is men’s desire to have women readily available for sexual gratification. And still others emphasize that the appropriation of women is not for copulation but for procreation, especially to produce male heirs and daughters who can be used as exchanges in cementing political economic alliances with other families (Hinkle, 1994). Indeed, this gender stratification promotes the survival of the species and fulfilling their label to be strong, men even use violence to assert their so-called masculinity, which in any case is portrayed by the sociologists as the more superior specie. But when one takes a closer look into Kinsey’s reports, he or she won’t help but notice an honest existence of a â€Å"third kind† or the second-class citizens as the popular belief says in the persons of the homosexuals (Betancourt & Lopez, 1993). For the best information on sexual characteristics, we are indebted to the Kinsey reports. Kinsey’s greatest contribution was the discovery that individual differences in sexual behavior are truly amazing. The reports were designed to give a scientific gloss to the normalization of promiscuity and deviancy. Kinsey’s initial report, released in 1948 stunned the nation by saying that American men were so sexually wild that â€Å"95% of them could be accused of some kind of sexual offense under 1940s laws† (Kinsey et al. , 1948). The report included reports of sexual activity by boys, even babies, and said, â€Å"37% of adult males had had at least one homosexual experience† (Kinsey et al. , 1948). Homosexuality is a preference for an individual of the same sex as a sexual partner. The Alfred C. Kinsey Institute for Sex Research estimates that five to six percent of the adult population is predominantly homosexual. However, since there are so many gradations in sexual behavior and preferences, many sociologists and psychologists take the view that there heterosexual or homosexual practices but not homosexual individuals (Halgin, 2006). In brief, homosexuality and heterosexuality are terms that describe behavior, not the identity of a person. But gender identity confusion can lead to fear of homosexuality. But behavior is not grossly disorganized, nor is functioning impaired if the delusions are not acted out. A gay man or a lesbian may or may not elect to engage in homosexual behavior (Bell and Weinberg, 1998). Father’s Presence A boy prefers the company of boys; his favorite toys are cars and trucks and wants to be a fireman or policeman. The parents treated both the children differently, even though they are technically the same. This shows how parents do seek to socialize children into their gender roles, even if they are doing it unconsciously. Parents provide distinctive environments for boys and girls. They give them different toys and clothes and decorate their rooms differently (Fagot, 1995). They respond negatively to more obvious forms of cross-sex behavior. A very young boy who tries on his mother high-heeled shoes or puts on a dress or lipstick may be regarded with amused tolerance, but such behavior in older children is regarded as outrageous rather than funny. Father reacts especially strongly to any such signs of feminine tendencies in their sons (Nicolosi, 1991). The men may interpret certain kinds of feminine interests or actions as signs of developing homosexual tendencies in their sons and react to their tendencies in the strongest terms (Nicolosi, 1991). Psychologists described the uniformity of reports from literature that gay males had poorer relations with their fathers and concludes, â€Å"Every study reported findings that their relationships with their fathers were unsatisfying with the father variously described as cold, rejecting, indifferent, hostile, or simply distant† (Moberly, 1983). Likewise it was concluded that the homosexuals hurtful relationship with the father results in defensive detachment, which is carried over to relationships with other men. Homosexuality becomes a form of a reparative drive (Nicolosi, 1991) in which the boy seeks a nurturing male relationship to undo the repression and regain the lost father. Significant environmental issues such as the impact of the father-son relationship are indicated as important in the development of adult male homosexual orientation. As scholars suggested, the father-child relationship is one of many crucial elements in the development of any child. Deficits in this area may result in adverse effects to the child’s (and later adult child’s) identification with self as an adult, and this identification is generally considered to be crucial in determining the way in which children and adults form relationships with others (Blankenhorn, 1995). Conversely, boys seemed to conform to the sex-role standards of their culture when their relationships with their fathers were warm, regardless of how masculine the fathers were, even though warmth and intimacy have traditionally been seen as feminine characteristics (Blankenhorn, 1995). Son’s pubertal development was a significant predictor of both information sharing and, to a lesser extent, values sharing, with fathers more likely to talk with sons who had attained more physical development. The father’s recognition of his son’s physical development appears to be an important factor in talking about sexuality. When fathers see their sons maturing physically, they may become aware of the increased possibility of sexual initiation, and this possibility spurs them to discussion of sexual topics (Moberly, 1983). In the movie Billy Elliot, the simple rights of gay people are also advanced. In terms of personality traits, boys are generally aggressive, independent, dominant, competitive, logical, direct, adventurous, self-confident, and ambitious. Boys are described as closemouthed, rough, and sloppy in their habits. Boys do not usually enjoy art and literature, and cannot easily express and find it easy to express their feelings. This is what it means to be masculine in the eyes of biased society. But Billy, more than the fondness for boxing his father wants for him, his natural flair falls for dancing, an art predominantly associated with girls. Most families, like that of Billy, urge boys to be little men even before they have any idea what it means to be a man. As a matter of fact, there is even more pressure on boys to be masculine than on girls to be feminine. They are constantly warned not to act like girls, not cry, not to be sissies. Most people have always considered it worse for a boy to be a sissy than for a girl to be a tomboy. Boys may have to prove themselves by being athletic or by being tough, men by making a lot of money or by being a man’s man in whatever way this is defined by their associates. But the burden of proof is always present. And the burden is heavier than most people think. When cooing to a baby in a crib, they use one tone of voice toward a girl, a different one toward a boy. Mothers look at baby girl more often and talk to her more frequently. By and large, children have been brought up to believe that women should be pretty and preferably slim, while men should be tall and strong (Sheinberg, 2004). This familial stereotyping is even carried on to the bigger world of the boys known as school. In the world that children enter at 6 there is a new adult, the teacher, whose discipline boys must conform to and whose acceptance they must court. Ordinarily the teacher is a woman, like the mother, and children’s behavior toward their mother can be generalized toward her. But boys who are identifying with their father and rebelling against their mother often have trouble in the early grades. They may be less fearful of rejection by the teacher and therefore more reluctant to accept her influence (Sheinberg, 2004). It was also found that father’s age at first intercourse would predict father-son sex-based communication. The rationale was that fathers who were sexually active at an earlier age would remember their experiences and would see their sons as needing information (Moberly, 1983). On the other hand, fathers who had sexual intercourse at a later age may believe it is best to wait, and they may talk with sons to instill this same value, while fathers who had sex at an early age might believe it best to inform their sons about sex in order to prepare them for it (Moberly, 1983). Without a doubt, among African Americans, a father is the most important thing a boy can have in his life. They relate to one another on a level that cannot be achieved through a mother-son relationship. It is important to have communication in the relationship because talking brings the two closer. A father, though, needs to know when to play an active role in his son’s life, and when to be more of an observer. If he mixes the two up, serious repercussions may occur. A father can be the best thing in his son’s life, but he needs to care for the right (Sheinberg, 2004). Masculinity Another expert to have studied sexuality is Margaret Mead. Margaret Mead (1949) edified a good number of Americans about the significance of examining sensitively and plainly at other cultures to better comprehend the intricacies of humanness. She contends that it seems quite probable that nature creates some inborn tendencies. But there is ample proof that heredity alone does not necessarily push men toward being independent and aggressive, nor women toward being passive and submissive (Mead, 1949). In one tribe that Mead studied, both men and women were what we would call highly feminine. Both sexes shunned aggression. Both took care of and nurtured the children. In modern times, girls and women are considered feminine unless they display overwhelming evidence to the contrary, but boys and men have to win the right to be called masculine. They have to prove their masculinity; they have to face and succeed in all kinds of financial, intellectual, sexual, and physical tests. The testing process starts early and continues throughout life (Mead, 1949). In the other tribe, the members of one sex spent all their time applying cosmetics, gossiping, putting, engaging in emotional outbursts, and taking care of the children. Members of the other sex had clean-shaven heads, scorned any makeup or ornamentation, were active and domineering, and provided most of the tribe’s food and other necessities. But the last sentence describes how the women behaved. The preceding sentence, about a fondness for cosmetics and emotional outbursts, describes the men (Mead, 1949). The motives for affiliation and dependency are universal. So are the emotions that accompany them. Society’s demand to suppress them is in effect a demand to transcend humanity. And efforts to do so can never completely succeed. Since it is impossible to program out all emotions, even the most extreme he-man can only approximate the masculine ideal. Thus every man, aware of the stirrings of the softer and weaker emotion he tries so dutifully to hide, is bound to worry about his own masculinity. Otherwise, he is prejudged as gay, a sissy, or a homosexual (Duberman, et al. , 1989). The Religion’s Take The church usually operates with a bureaucratic structure and claims to include most of the members of a society. The difficulties the society has experienced in recent years are reflective of that of the ancient times and have contributed to the resurgence of conservative Christianity (Fisher, et al. , 1994). We have seen in Christie Davies’ Sexual Taboos and Social Boundaries that religion may be a conservative force, impeding modernization and reaffirming traditional authority (Davies, 1982). The bold article tackles Christianity’s bias against such so-called sexual taboos as homosexuality, bestiality, and transvestism in North America and Europe. That is, Christianity is associable with such concepts as hypocrisy, racism, narrow-mindedness and conservativism (Fisher, et al. , 1994). Davies is referring to the passages in the Bible, which state that homosexuality is wrong. These occur most prominently in Deuteronomy. Is it not entirely possible for instance to believe that the Bible is entirely true except those passages which condemn homosexuality which were inserted later by corrupt scribes (Fisher, et al. , 1994). Second, because homosexuals are considered deviants, the religious, military, and political principals find a way to give them a reprehensible image by consolidating their boundaries. The symbolic interactionist perspective has been a useful tool for examining the complexities of this heterosexual-homosexual relationship. Thus, should the roles of certain members of the society depart from the normal conventions bordering on the taboo, as homosexuals have been automatically deemed doing, invariably there are spiteful consequences for their behavior and actions (Fisher, et al. , 1994). And third, Davies argues that the society’s mainstream institutions dictate and shape the homosexuals’ experiences. In large part, they unconsciously build up their sense of reality by the way the society orders its social agendas and structures social alternatives. To the extent that they are locked within the social environment provided by the heterosexual culture, the homosexual segment inhabits a somewhat restricted world outside and is thus considered an external threat to any open social frontier (Fisher, et al. , 1994). Homosexual acts were punishable by death among the ancient Hebrews, but accepted and even admired by the Greeks. Later, the early Christians held that abstinence was the noblest form of sexual behavior, but at about the same time, the Romans were indulging in their famous orgies in the Colosseum (Fisher, et al. , 1994). In England, at the time of Queen Elizabeth, sex was treated with a frankness and frequently with a ribaldry that has no parallel in Western history. A little later, under Queen Victoria, it was regarded with such great circumspection that among some groups of these very same Englishmen, one would hardly have known that coitus ever took place and any falls from propriety were the cause of great scandal and disgrace (Lenski and Lenski, 1999). Moreover, Davies also touches on dehumanization or slavery by way of Christian association. In the Western society, significant segments of the population reject coexistence with minorities in equal terms. Women and homosexuals are subsumed in the list of minorities in the large group of African Americans (Davies, 1982). The current debate suggests that Christianity or any religion for that matter, remains a powerful moving force in Western life. People are not close to resolving how to relate people’s religious lives to their religious lives. Each generation must tackle its own church-state question as Christie Davies does with homosexuality in her article (Davies, 1982). Furthermore, broadly considered, long-term relationship, heterosexual or homosexual, should be considered as families. The social definition of the family as a group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption has come to its revolutionary point of reshaping into such as a group of people who love and care or each other regardless of spiritual background or sexual preference (Fisher, et al. , 1994). Some gays and lesbians are married, have children, and lead lives that in most respects are indistinguishable from those of the larger population. However, homosexual adults who have come to terms with their homosexuality, who do not regret their sexual orientation, and who can function effectively sexually and socially, are no more distressed psychologically than are heterosexual men and women (Klonoff & Landrine, 2000). Homophobia Few people in the history of Western society have been more scorned, feared, and stigmatized than homosexuals. To put in a more appropriate context, these people who fear, hate, and persecute the homosexuals are homophobic (Kagay, 1999). Gays and lesbians often hold values and beliefs that are different from those of the dominant culture. Because of the controversial nature of being gay or lesbian, and the heavy social proscriptions against it, many individuals are reluctant to â€Å"come out of the closet† or to reveal their membership in this co-culture. As more gays and lesbians identify themselves publicly, they find that their attitudes and communication patterns often clash with people who do not understand the gay and lesbian co-cultures (Vander Zanden, 1995). When the collision involves the arbitrary denial of privilege, prestige, and power to members of the homosexual co-culture whose qualifications are equal to those of members of the dominant group as the heterosexuals, then generally, sociologists can easily label this as discrimination. And when the attitudes of aversion and hostility toward the homosexual co-culture abound because they simply belong to it and hence are presumed to have the objectionable qualities ascribed to it, then the label becomes prejudice (Vander Zanden, 1993). Whereas prejudice is an attitude or a state of mind, discrimination is action. Therefore, phobia as an irrational part of a person’s mentality makes homophobia basically a prejudice that may lead to discrimination but cannot grow to be a form of racism (Klonoff & Landrine, 2000). Racism or racialism is a belief in the superiority of some races over others. It also involves prejudice against or hatred of other races. Discriminating behavior is also defining element in racism. Be that as it may, racism is based on none other than racial membership and in this paper’s case, on sexual preference or orientation too. Stereotypically, it is based on the color of the skin, the texture of the hair, the facial features, the stature, and the shape of the heads. Biologists typically view races as populations that differ in the incidence of various hereditary traits. More narrowly, they conceive of a race or subspecies as an inbreeding, geographically isolated population that differs in hereditary traits from other members of the species (Bullough & Bullough 1996). Hereditary is the key term. Although there are some floating nature-nurture debate on the tendency to be homosexual, being gay or lesbian is more broadly accepted as a behavior than a heritable peculiarity (Klonoff & Landrine, 2000). Homosexuality knows no color or physical feature. Although gays whiten the color of their skin, stretch their hair length, effeminize their facial features, glamorize their stature, or cosmetically alter the shape of their heads, they cannot be classified a race but a co-culture instead (Bell and Weinberg, 1998). Although racial stratification is similar to other systems of stratification in which African Americans are a part of, including gender stratification, in its essential features, there tends to be one major difference. Racial and ethnic groups often have the potential for carving their own independent nation from the existing state (Klonoff & Landrine, 2000). Political separatism may offer racial groups a solution that is not available to gender groups. Gender groups typically lack the potential for becoming self-sufficient political states because they do not function as self-sufficient social or economic groups (Vander Zanden, 1995). Homosexuals are a varied group. They are found in all occupational fields, political persuasions, religious faiths, and racial and ethnic groups. Some are married, have children, and lead lives that in most respects are indistinguishable from those of the larger population. Others enter homosexual unions that are relatively durable (Kagay, 1999). In fact, if homosexuality could be considered a part of the gender stratification, then homophobia could even be more appropriately subsumed by the realms of sexism than racism. But the homosexual population cannot be undervalued that a gay joke can testify to their numbers: â€Å"I wonder why gay people multiply. They don’t have any vagina but they seem born twice a straight baby girl’s chance. † In many modern nations, the members of some groups participate in the main culture of the society while simultaneously sharing with one another a number of unique values, norms, traditions, and lifestyles. These cultural patterns are termed a co-culture (Vander Zanden, 1993). African American co-cultures that have become prominent in the United States partly because of their numbers and partly because of their lack of subscription to many of the mainstream beliefs, attitudes, and values. Although there are many co-cultures in the United States, the homosexual culture has become increasingly prominent because of their demands for equality.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Power of E-Commerce over Traditional Mall Shopping POWER OF E-COMMERCE OVER TRADITIONAL MALL SHOPPING

i.Most people with different ages can easily browse the internet for several reasons; however, the online shopping considered being one of the most amazing motives. Internet revolution and growing of online marketing shifted most of consumers’ preferences to rely on online shopping instead of the usual traditional mall shopping especially when it comes to convenience, easiness, and globalization. ii.Convenience a.Convenience is the key motivation for most online shoppers. Save gas & time during shopping. Also, online store never close! b.Life is busy! Going for shopping malls is a hassle. It is difficult to compare prices as well as rigid working hours. iii.Easiness a. When it comes to people with special need, such as older or handicapped, they might suffer while driving, parking, and walking to the targeted store, or they will ask for assistance during shopping. Extra merits go to online shopping, such as future reordering, which is allowing customers to place the same previous order over and over again. Also, since all purchasing is processed electronically, all transactions and receipts will be emailed to the customer, so there is no need to worry about losing receipts ever again. On the other hand, most stores will never accept to return and/or exchange without receipts. Unlike the boring approach of waiting in long lines to checkout or dealing with customer service in the retail shops (mainly during holidays and special occasions), the online stores are always ready to check a customer out whenever he/she is ready. When it comes to globalization, online shopping broadened the market to be between customers’ hands and makes shopping available for everyone. Nowadays, anyone can shop from foreign stores outside USA, such as European, Asian, or just any online store in the world. A person can shop and ship the desirable item(s) witho ut obstacles right to his/her door using reasonable shipping methods and rates. In fact, traditional stores do not have the ability to bring something from outside of the country. Stores, no matter how luxurious they are, they are still local stores. Definitely, the United States keeps theFrench Revolution : The Main Effect Of Enlightenment Ideas... France in Middle Ages era was ruled by the arbitrary monarch. Besides the king, the clergy and the nobility, which were the officials of the church and the group of aristocrats respectively, had supreme power than the society. In the way it ran, there were many problems in the social and economic section, such as poverty and taxation issues. Thus, French Revolution is one of the turning points of French public life. It is popular with the slogan â€Å"liberty, equality and fraternity† that brought French to be a new revolutionary country. While many people are still arguing whether French Revolution is the main effect of the Enlig htenment ideas emergence or social economic disruption, I will argue that this revolution was an ultimate outcome of the social and economics disarray by looking at the details of foreign and internal aspects. To begin with, the French production method that outdated towards other countries, predominantly turned into the root of the French Revolution. As in 1789, French economy laid on peasants and artisans (Soboul 1974, p. 27). At the same time, there were many developments of overseas trade and big industries in other parts of the world, especially Britain, which was France’s rival to achieve the authority in Europe. As a result, the French economic agents intended to transform their approach, as it happened in Britain. In fact, France just responsive to modernize in the transportation and communication section. It seemed less willing to change the

Gas Cell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gas Cell - Essay Example Configured for gas sampling, the cell incorporates 2 valves, an inlet and an outlet, that enable flowing gas samples through the cell. In its solid and liquid vaporization configuration, the cell has an outlet needle valve from which a vacuum can be pulled and two (2) sample inlets. One inlet is a needle septa injection port on the top of the cell which is similar to the type used in gas chromatography. There is a second inlet in the form of a side port for inserting solid samples, which also doubles as the thermocouple port. Using the side port eliminates the need to recheck vacuum seals whenever the cell is opened to insert solid samples. The 250w heating jacket extends over the end of the cell so that both the cell body and the optics are heated, and allows operation at temperatures up to 1000K. Condensation on the optics is minimized by heating them to the same temperature as the sample chamber. A type J iron constantan thermocouple is provided with plugs which are compatible with the optional temperature controller. The cell body is type 304 stainless steel and an assortment of seals is provided - silicon rubber, viton and PTFE. Stainless Steel 304: SS 304 is the most versatile and the most ... It also has excellent low temperature properties and responds well to hardening by cold working. SS 304 is used in all industrial, commercial and domestic fields because of its good corrosion and heat resisting properties. Using SS304 is reducing the chances of failure of cell due to heating & creep. Creep Data Stress for a creep rate of 1% in 10 000 h. Temperature, oC 550 600 650 700 800 Temperature, K 823 873 923 973 1073 Stress, MPa 120 80 50 30 10 Environment Data/ Corrosion Rate The performance of SX 304 compared with other metals in various environments is shown in the following table. The corrosion rates are based on a 10 year exposure. Environment Corrosion Rate (m/year) SS 304 Mild Steel Rural 0.0025 5.8 Marine 0.0076 34.0 Marine Industrial 0.0076 46.2 So as compared to other metals stainless steel 304 is having very less corrosion rate, so this metal is best for the Gas cell. Stainless steel is also a preferred substrate because of its lower cost to fabricate into a mirror it requires multi-layer coatings, including gold as the primary reflective surface, which is expensive. Copper: Copper is a chemical element. Copper is malleable, ductile, excellent electrical conductor, non magnetic, resistant to corrosion, excellent heat transfer capacity, durable, & recyclable element. It is a ductile metal with excellent electrical conductivity and is rather soft in its pure state and has a pinkish luster which is. It finds extensive use as an electrical conductor, heat conductor, as a building material, and as a component of various alloys. Though copper has ductility property hence it can be drawn into thin wire. The ductility property of copper can reduce the chance of failure of cell due to