MERS-CoV Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MERS-CoV - Research Paper Example Having been first reported in 2012 in Saudi Arabia, MERS has spread in other countries through the Saudi Arabia visitors who travel in other countries (Butler, 2012). Major symptoms of MERS-CoV include fever, shortness of breath and coughing. According to a report by World Health Organization, indicates that although transmission of MERS-CoV from one person to another is one of the ways through which the illness is transmitted, it is not the major way (McKay, 2014). The viruses according to National Institute of Health based in Maryland indicate that the viruses are able to mutate once they are inhaled. The viruses are mostly transmitted through the air when an infected individual comes very close to other people (Bermingham et al, 2012). Infected camels have also major way through which the virus can be transmitted to the people. Momattin, H et al. (2013). Therapeutic Options for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – possible lessons from a systematic review of SARS-CoV therapy. International Journal of Infectious Diseases 17

Right to Education Essay Example for Free

Right to Education Essay On 12 April 2012, in its historical decision the Supreme Court (SC) of India threw its weight behind the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The court upheld the constitutional validity of RTE Act that guarantees children free and compulsory education from the age of 6 to 14 years of age. The judgment makes it mandatory for the government, local authorities and private schools to reserve 25 percent of their seats for ‘weaker and disadvantaged sections’ of society. The decision has wiped away many apprehensions regarding the future of the Act. It has been welcomed by academicians, politicians, journalists and others. The Union minister for human resources development Mr. Kapil Sibal, articulated, â€Å"RTE can be a model for the world†. While there has been enthusiastic praise of the judgment, concerns related to quality, finance, ensuring of 25 percent reservation in private schools and change in classroom structure cannot be thrown into the winds. The amount put aside by Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is only Rs. 25,555 crores for 2012-13, which falls short of the recommended financial requirement of Rs 1. 82 lakh crore. From where will the rest of amount come? According to Kapil Sibal (2012) more than 90 percent of households will have to enroll their wards in government schools. Thus 90 percent of households’ wards will have poor access to education; if at all they are enrolled in schools, as the quality of education in government schools is a matter of serious concern. There is no clarity on how 25 percent reservation in private schools will be filled. There may be more than one private school in a neighborhood, so how will they decide who will go where? How will reservation in private schools be monitored? The 25 percent reservation in private schools will dramatically change the structure of classrooms in schools. Whether diversity of classroom will create democratic learning environment and enhance teaching learning process or will it put children from ‘weaker and disadvantaged sections’ in discomfited position? Concern of Quality Education One of the primary objectives of Right of Children Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 is improving quality education. The quality of elementary education, particularly in government schools, is a matter of serious concern. The quality of school education depends on various variables which includes physical infrastructure, method of teaching, learning environment, type of books, qualification of teachers, number of teachers, attendance of teachers and students and so on. There has been substantial progress in increasing enrollment with national average now at 98. 3 percent (2009-2010) according to official statistics. However, the attendance of pupils in class rooms has declined. In 2007, 73. 4 percent students enrolled for Standards I-IV/V were present in class, which has fallen to 70. 9 percent by 2011 (EPW, 2012). Fayaz Ahmad (2009) came with the findings that despite lack of staff in government schools, teachers remain absent on rotational bases. He adds that due to vacancies for teacher, absenteeism of teachers and poor infrastructure in government schools classrooms are multi-grade, i. e. one teacher attending to children from different grades in a single classroom. The attendance of teachers and students in schools is directly related with the quality of education. Furthermore, mere enrollment of children in school does not fulfill the aims of RTE. Amman Madan (2003) argues ‘the question of reform in Indian education has usually been conceived of in narrow ways – putting children in school and getting schools to function efficiently’. Despite high enrollments in schools 50 percent of children studying in the fifth grade lack the reading skills expected of children in the second grade (Annual Status of Education Report, ASER 2010). Ensuring 25 percent Reservation The RTE, Act, 2009 clause, 12 (1) (c) mandates for private schools to admit quarter of their class strength from weaker section and disadvantaged groups 1. The constitutional validity of this clause was challenged in the apex court of country. However on 12, April 2012, a bench of Chief Justice S . H. Kapadia, Justice K. S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar upheld the constitutional validity of the Act. In response to the Supreme Court order, HRD minister Kapil Sibal said, â€Å"I am very happy that the court has set all controversies at rest. One of the biggest controversies was on whether the 25 percent reservation applies to private schools or not†¦ that controversy has been set to rest. †2 Reacting to the 25 percent reservation Krishna Kumar (2012) penned down â€Å"most ambitious among its objectives is the social engineering it proposes by guaranteeing at least 25 percent share of enrolment in unaided fee-charging schools to children whose parents cannot afford the fee. † Both Krishna Kumar and Kapil Sibal did not give indepth critical insight to the provision. The questions like, what will be the mechanism of selection process of 25 percent children from ‘weaker and disadvantaged sections’. Some private schools are very reputed and provide very high quality of education and some are either at par with government schools or little ahead. There is a hierarchy of private schools which are stratified in quality education. Who will go where what will be the criteria for that? Furthermore Indian society is patriarchal in nature, boys are even served good food in comparison to girls how one can expect parents or guardians will send a girl child to these private schools, if at all they agree to send a girl child to school. The reservation benefits will go to a particular gender of society. This will further reinforce and reproduce gender bias and social inequality in society. Thus RTE itself creates a vacuum for â€Å"reproduction of culture†. Fayaz Ahmad (2009) underlines, parents prefer schooling for their girl child but prefer government schools for them in comparison to a male child. The important finding which has been revealed by Fayaz Ahmad (2009) is the enrollment shown in schools was higher than what actually it was. This was done to get mid-day meals for more and more children so that teachers can save some money to bear other hidden expenditures and avoid wrath of authorities for poor enrollment. Despite employment of Resource Persons and Zonal Resource Persons by Jammu and Kashmir government in the department of school education ,who are obliged to ensure smooth and normal functioning of schools, such kind of loopholes are observed, how can the government ensure that private schools will follow the provision of 25 percent reservation. Change in the Structure of Classroom and Beyond. The RTE Act directed all schools, including privately -run schools, to reserve 25 percent of their seats for students from socially and economically backward families. That means, quarter of students in classes will be from marginalized section of the society. This will change the structure of classes. Krishna Kumar (2012) maintains â€Å"a classroom reflecting life’s diversity will benefit children of all strata while enriching teaching experience. † He further adds â€Å"classroom life will now be experientially and linguistically richer. It will be easier to illustrate complex issues with examples drawn from children’s own lives. † He rightly articulates that class room will reflect diversity and will be experientially and linguistically richer. But his argument that classroom diversity will benefit children from weaker section of society is hypothetical and ambiguous. School education can’t be separated from its social context, those who teach and learn carry with them attitudes, beliefs, habits, customs, orientations which differ from class to class. The elite schools have their own culture which suits to children of upper class. The teaching-learning environment at these schools suits children of upper class while children from weaker section may find themselves alienated from the schools. Bernstein (1971) while examining the mode of communication of working and middle class argues that both have different mode of communication and most of the teachers in schools belong to middle class which gives edge to middle class children in learning. Bourdieu(1977) empirical research in France explores that performance of a child in school on his access to cultural capital. He maintains that children of upper classes are able to understand contents of knowledge better than their counterparts belonging to marginalized sections of society. The present experience of India with mixed or diversified classroom is not encouraging. The children from marginalized sections of society are discriminated in the classroom on the bases of gender, caste, and ethnicity. Despite Indian constitution strictly prohibits discrimination on the bases of caste and other social backgrounds and makes it a punishable act yet children from marginalized sections are discriminated in schools. How can discrimination of ‘weaker and disadvantaged sections be prevented? There are various theoretical and empirical studies which have come up with that children from lower classes are at a backfoot in schools in the learning process. They are more vulnerable when enrolled in elite schools. Conclusion Indian children now have a precious right to receive free and compulsory education from the ages of 6 to 14 years of age. The government will bear all the expenditures of schooling. The act has mandated for private schools to reserve quarter of classroom strength for deprived sections of society, which will change the structure of classrooms in elite schools to school who are not yet enrolled. However, there are many apprehensions with regard to achieving desired goals through RTE. By pressing for 25 percent reservation for the ‘weaker and disadvantaged sections’ of society, government has acknowledged poor quality in government schools where more than 90 percent of households in the country will have to enroll their children even if 25 percent reservation is implemented in true sense. This means that there will be further diversification of society in India. There are also concerns whether those enrolled in private schools will cope and adjust with education system and culture of elite schools. There are many other loop holes which are pressing and challenging in the way of RTE: quality education, funding, teacher skills and enhance of reservation policy are some major concerns. Despite the flaws in the way of RTE Act, it is important to simultaneously ensure proper implementation of the Act. —————————————- Footnotes 1. The Gazette of India, http://eoc. du. ac. in/RTE%20-%20notified. pdf 2. Dhananjay Mahapatra Himanshi Dhawan(2012) Times of India, RTE:Govt Subsidy to be based on KV expenditure, New Delhi, 13 April. References. Ahmad, Fayaz (2009) â€Å" A Sociological Study of Primary Education Among Girls: With Special Reference to Block Hajin of District Bandipora† Dissertation, Barkatullah University. Annual Status of Educational Report (2010): â€Å"Annual Status of Educational Report ( Rural) , assessed 21April 2012: http://www. pratham. org/aser08/ASER_2010_Report. pdf Bernstein, B (1973): â€Å"Class Codes and Control: Applied Studies towards a Sociology of Language†, London, Routledge Kegan Paul. Boourdieu,P (1977): â€Å" Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction†, In Karabel, J and A. H, Halsey, (ed), Power and Ideology in Education. OUP Economic and Political Weekly (2012): â€Å"The Right to learn: Two Years after the Right to Education Act, the government needs to focus on quality†,16 April, Vol XLVII No 16. Kumar, Krishna (2012): â€Å"Let a hundred children blossom: A classroom reflecting life’s diversity will benefit children of all strata while enriching teaching experience. †, The Hindu, Delhi,20 April 2012. Madan, Amman (2003): Education as Vision for Social Change, Economic and Political Weekly May 31, 2003 pp. 2135-2136 Sibal, Kapil (2012): â€Å"Admitting kids from weaker sections while not lowering quality of teaching will be difficult for pvt schools, but it can be done: RTE Can Be A Model For The World† The Times of India, New Delhi, 20 April. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, popularly known as the Right to Education (RTE) Act, came into being in India from April 1, 2010. The Act introduces a number of changes in education delivery through schools in India. Many of the changes are simply revolutionary, and if they are implemented properly will vastly improve the system of imparting education in the country. The Act is a landmark in the history of education related legislation in India. However, some of the provisions of the Act, although included with noble intentions, will have unintended consequences that might counter some of the advantages of the new system itself. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, as published in the Gazette of India [No. 39, Dated August 27, 2009] makes for interesting reading. I present below a critique of some of the salient provisions of the Act, and elucidate how these provisions also have unintended consequences that have not been addressed. Along the way, I also provide suggestions on what could be done better. Category 1: Decisions relating to screening and failing students (Section 16) No failing allowed: Section 16 of the RTE Act states that no child shall be failed in any class or expelled from school till he or she completes elementary education (defined as education imparted from Class 1 to Class 8). The Act also provides for special training for students who are deemed to be deficient and deserving of extra help. The Government reasons that failing a child is wrong, no matter the level of learning deficiency the child exhibits with respect to his or her peers. Any such deficiencies, the Government thinks, can be made up through special training provided by the school authorities under Section 4 of the Act. The intention of this rule is no doubt to support those children who are not able to attain the level of performance required to gain admission into the next class. Through this provision, the Government wants to reinforce that performance standards are relative, that failing a child is an unjust mortification for the child’s persona, and that a child younger than 14 is too young to be explicitly classified as deficient compared to his or her peers. While all these reasons hold good, a number of issues remain unaddressed: Skill development: While it is true that failing a child may well cause the child to intensely doubt his or her abilities, the Government fails to appreciate that failing a child also serves as a protective mechanism. Under the mechanism of failing, a child whose skills are clearly deficient with respect to his or her peers is held back in the same class and denied promotion. Failing therefore also acts as a protective mechanism, allowing a child to spend more time in the same class to make sure that he or she gains skills commensurate with his or her peers, and acts as a crucial aid in skill development. Under the new system, however, the child graduates to the next class regardless of performance or skill level in the previous one. The system then provides for special attention (through Section 4 of the Act) for such a child in the higher class to make up the deficiency in skills and ability. The critical question is – can a child who is unable to bear the workload of a junior class now deal with the workload of a senior class in addition to taking special classes? The embarrassment of failing, which under a system of failing a weak student is corrected at the first stage of inadequacy, now carries over into senior classes. This only accentuates the embarrassment that a child faces because of an increasingly steep learning curve which he or she finds ever more difficult to negotiate as compared to his or her peers. As a consequence, the child faces academic seclusion in the higher class. No feedback mechanism: Failing also acts as an important feedback mechanism, making the child and his parents and teachers aware that the child is deficient in critical skills. It also acts as feedback for teachers – if more students fail in a teacher’s class than those in other teachers’ classes, the teacher’s methods and effectiveness should be put under the scanner. However, under the new system, when every child is promoted to the next class irrespective of performance, both parents and teachers in general put in less of a marginal effort to ensure development of the child. The onus to support the child is passed from teachers and parents to schools (through Section 4 of the Act), and rarely, if ever, will teachers be held accountable for falling standards of teaching. Similarly, the incentive for children to learn is diminished, because the fear of failure and the repercussions of non-performance are removed. No doubt all consuming interest rather than fear should be the motive for sustained academic development of children but a system that ensures less accountability for all concerned (students, parents, and teachers) in no way creates a case for substituting ‘fear’ with interest. The stick has been removed, but where is the carrot? Postponing development does not work: One reason often put forward is that failing creates a frustration and lack of confidence in the child, causing them to drop out of school. However, a child that is deficient in skills will find it even harder to catch on in a senior class. The frustration and inclination to quit will therefore be even stronger. Ultimately, the child may be inclined to drop out of school in frustration with the system (experienced over a number of years) rather than with just a particular teacher or class. With the latter, there is still hope to bring the child back into the system. With the former, even that is gone. Inability to deal with failure: A child who does not learn the value of accountability, performance, and hard work in the initial stages of its schooling will be ill-equipped to meet these constants of life in later stages. The child will grow up not with resilience, but with a sense of entitlement, feeling that it is the duty of teachers to provide special training when he or she does not perform. When this sense of entitlement is suddenly removed after 14 years of age, the child may well feel deprived, unsupported, and unable to deal with performance expectations. Rewarding competence is the rule in all professions and vocations – why not embed it into the child at an early age? Category 2: Prohibition on physical punishment and ‘mental harassment’ (Section 17). Section 17(1) of the Act prohibits physical punishment or mental harassment of students. While a ban on physical punishment is laudable, the one on mental harassment is incompletely defined. What, after all, is ‘mental harassment’? It could be anything from a light admonition for not completing homework to vile abuses meant to strip the student of all self-respect. The Act sheds no further light. The problem then becomes one of establishing the commission of mental harassment itself. When rules are incompletely defined, they are subject to manipulation and misuse. Consider the plausible scenario when the rule on mental harassment is sought to be enacted. The clear and visible effect is that teachers will not be able to physically punish or mentally berate students. However, there are also some unseen effects. No clear escalation mechanism: One of the unseen effects is that in rural areas and impoverished regions, where acts of mental harassment are most often carried out, these acts are not even reported (except in severe cases). This is because the child risks arousing further displeasure of the teacher concerned, and is not assured of action in any case. Section 17(2) of the Act prescribes disciplinary action against any teacher violating the rule. However, in a set up where mental harassment is hard to establish, reporting mechanisms are poor, the social matrix favours teachers, and where administrators are already feeling a crunch of available teachers, strong action against the guilty is unlikely. If at all it is to be more effective, the provision needs to be given more teeth – establish a uniform reporting and escalation mechanism for teacher misconduct and ensure that whistleblowers are not at the receiving end of punitive measures. ‘Mental harassment’ not clearly defined: In an urban, metropolitan setting, again the loose definition of mental harassment becomes a problem. Here, students are more empowered, and find it easy to report any behaviour which would constitute ‘mental harassment’ in their opinion. In such schools, errant behaviour from students is encouraged because any admonishment, even if it is meant to serve as a correction, can be (mis)interpreted as mental harassment. This will reduce the effectiveness of teachers to administer suitable admonitory measures to this class of students. A solution for improvement, then, seems to be introduction of a uniform escalation and protection mechanism for students, along with clearly defining what mental harassment constitutes, allowing students and teachers to be aware of potential violations when they occur. Category 3: Only ‘recognized’ schools allowed to function (Section 18) Schools which do not have a certificate of recognition from the local authority or government shall no longer be allowed to function, under Section 18 of the Right to Education Act. If such a school is already functioning, the Act prescribes that it be shut down within 3 years if it fails to meet norms. If a new school is set up, it must conform to the norms for a school as laid out in the Schedule of the Act, or be shut down within three years. The norms themselves prescribe minimum teacher-student ratios for different classes, the existence of a permanent building, minimum number of working hours per teacher, and a functioning library, among other things. There is no doubt that a school which provides all of these will be superior in imparting education to an institution which provides only some of these. However, two main difficulties arise – it is erroneous to conclude that private, unrecognized schools offer a quality of education that is less than that offered by recognized schools, and banning private unrecognized schools further aggravates the problem of scarcity of formal education institutions. Unrecognized schools may be better than recognized ones: In a study conducted on private, unrecognized schools in the slums of East Delhi in 2004-05[1], James Tooley and Pauline Dixon from the University of Newcastle found that there were more unrecognized schools than government schools in the locality. In this research paper, the authors found, through unannounced visits, that a higher number of teachers were teaching in private unaided schools as compared to government schools. Further, they found that private unaided schools (including unrecognized ones) had superior or similar inputs than government schools. Most significantly, in this study, Tooley and Dixon found that children in unrecognized private schools scored 72% higher in Mathematics, 83% higher in Hindi, and 246% higher in English than students in government schools. Students in private unaided schools were found to be more satisfied with facilities being provided to them than their counterparts in government schools. Teachers in these schools reported a level of satisfaction similar to that reported by teachers in government schools. Importantly, even head teachers or principals were reported to maintain closer monitoring on teachers in private unaided schools (including unrecognized schools) than in government schools. Considering that monitoring and continuous evaluation of teachers is an important element of the strategy under the new Act, this last point gains even more significance. In another study conducted by Tooley and Dixon[2] in 918 schools within a locality in Hyderabad, 37 percent were found to be private unrecognized schools, compared to only 35 percent government run schools. Around 65 percent of school-going children in the area went to the private, unrecognized schools. It may be argued that this study was conducted only in particular areas, and that things might be different in other parts of the country. This notion is refuted by another study done by Karthik Muralidharan and Michael Kremer of rural private primary schools in India in 2003[3]. This study, as claimed by the authors, is a â€Å"nationally representative survey of rural private primary schools in India conducted in 2003†[4]. While conducting this research, the authors found that private schools are most common in areas with poor public school performance. In spite of paying lower teacher salaries, these schools have children with higher attendance rates and higher test scores. The teachers are 2 to 8 percentage points less likely to be absent as compared to public school teachers, and 6 to 9 percent more likely to be engaged in regular teaching activity. These research studies do present strong evidence for the view that private unrecognized schools are comparable, if not superior, to their government counterparts. The onus is on the government to prove conclusively that this is not so. Until this has been done, closing down the unrecognized schools, even with a 3 year grace period to confirm to standard regulations, might be hasty, unwarranted, and a step backward. Unrecognized schools solve the problem of outreach: Under Section 13(1), the Government has mandated that no school should collect any capitation fee for granting admission to a child. This move is welcome, and it will ensure that discretionary admissions are not the hegemony of the rich. However, having addressed the symptom, the Government has failed to address the underlying cause. Why do schools demand that capitation fees be paid for admission? The simple reason is that the number of children seeking admission is much higher than the number of seats available. The school therefore sees this as a convenient way of ensuring admission for those wards whose parents can contribute the most to the school financially. The presence of this phenomenon itself indicates the paucity of available education. The solution would be to either ensure that government schools or private recognized schools can ensure education for every child who seeks it. As this is a huge task and is not easily accomplished in at least the foreseeable future, private unrecognized schools must be a crucial part of the strategy for enabling outreach. Not only will this ensure a lesser burden on the government to set up new schools quickly, but it will also ensure that the overall vision of the Act – basic education for the widest base of children possible – is more convincingly achieved. We need to create more schools, not less. Private unrecognized schools are not the alternative to recognized institutions – they are the alternative to no education at all! By proposing to shut them down, the government decreases the outreach of education made possible by these institutions. An uncertain future for students: The RTE Act mandates that unrecognized institutions which fail to meet the set criteria will have to close down after a period of about 3 years. However, apart from mandating that the students in these schools will have a right to seek transfer to other schools within the area, the Act does not specify how and on what basis these students will be given admission in other schools. With recognized schools already straining under the burden of having to support free education for all students who approach them (till their capacity), the room for accommodating more students will be scarce. This itself will create uncertainty for students studying in these unrecognized institutions, and will also create a strain on recognized institutions to accommodate them later. The only alternative is for the state to open as many recognized schools (of approximately similar capacity) as the number of unrecognized schools that it closes down. A Times of India report[5] cites various studies that show that in Punjab, 86% of more than 3000 private schools are unrecognized and 3. 5 lakh children are enrolled in them. The report also says that in 1996, the Public Report on Basic Education in India (PROBE) survey of UP, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh found that 63% of private schools were not recognized. According to the report, Andhra Pradesh has 10,000 unrecognized schools, and Delhi has at least 1,500 catering to around 6 lakh children. The report also cites Prof Yash Aggarwal of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), who in 2000 had said that the number of unrecognized schools in the country was doubling every 5 years and the number of such schools was soon expected to be 1. 5 to 2 times that of government schools in the country. With 10 years already having passed since this assertion, one can assume that unrecognized schools form a large part of the educational backbone of India. To break this apart and yet keep the neck straight will be a difficult endeavour. Category 4: Prohibition of private tuition by teachers (Section 28) Section 28 of the RTE Act mandates that no teacher should engage himself or herself in private tuition activity. Through this provision, the Government is trying to address the problem of teachers not teaching properly in schools and then requiring students to attend private tuitions to actually learn the subject material. The intention again is worthy of appreciation – any provision that improves standards of teaching in the classroom and removes perverse incentives for teachers to earn money from their students through unethical means is welcome. A question of money: The primary reason why teachers underperform in the classroom and then require their students to attend private tuitions is the want of additional income, unfettered by a loose monitoring and punitive system. Banning teachers from taking private tuitions does not do away with the cause of the problem. With the RTE Act enforcing strict norms on the appointment of teachers, some aspirational educationists might well be forced to sit out. It is then possible for their collaborators inside the system to promote the seeking of private tuitions with these private teachers, with of course a money sharing arrangement being worked out between the two. While banning private tuitions by teachers themselves is a welcome step in this regard, this should also be reinforced with a ban on referring students for private tuitions. Monitoring this will not be an easy task, but then neither will be monitoring teachers to ensure they do not provide private tuitions. It is student reporting that must be the proof of misdemeanour in this case (with suitable verification and safeguards to ensure false reports are filtered out). Banning referral for private tuitions along with private tuitions by teachers themselves will make the legislation more complete. A question of performance: Even if private tuitions by teachers are successfully done away with, it still does not address the prevalence of teacher underperformance and absenteeism. One may argue that with an alternative source of revenue (private tuitions) now removed, teachers will be loath to take up government school jobs, as the effective income earned is lower. Some capable teachers who would otherwise have taught well in school, and also taken private tuitions, will therefore walk away from a government school teacher job, choosing to dedicate themselves completely to private tuitions. On the other hand, some less capable teachers, who were not teaching well in school but were supplementing their income through private tuitions, will elect to stay on. With the failing mechanism also removed, the performance evaluation of these teachers will become even more difficult. Underperformance, therefore, will stay, and teacher absenteeism will only increase (especially to pursue other income opportunities). Section 24 of the Act prescribes punitive measures to be undertaken in case absenteeism and non-performance of duties is observed. While it prescribes the minimum duties to be undertaken by each teacher, no specification is made of what constitutes high performance.

Freely Loving the Highest Good Essay -- Analysis, Augustines View

One of the inquiries that is often raised in the topic of the will is the account of humans not loving and turning away from the highest good. By this, I mean that there is a relation between the freedom of the will and human beings not having a rightly ordered love, that is, to love the wrong thing. According to Augustine’s philosophy, the chain of iniquity is self-forged by our divided will, also referred to as the divided house. In Book XII of â€Å"City of God† Augustine declares it pointless to look for the cause of the evil will. For the cause, he argues, is â€Å"deficient,† not â€Å"efficient.† In supporting Augustine’s view, I will provide my own examples and arguments in order to strengthen his claims. Before I can expostulate on the issues of the divided will, and the reward for freely willing to love the highest good, I will explain what Augustine means by â€Å"deficient† as opposed to† efficient† cause as the foun dation of the divided house. Deficient Cause vs. Efficient Cause Often times, actions are analyzed by rational explanation or causal explanation. Rational explanation attempts to construe an action by the aims a person might presently have in his mind. Causal explanation attempts to find the cause for that particular action. Augustine thinks it is absurd to locate the cause of the evil will. Perhaps, we should take into account Augustine’s view about â€Å"The First Sin,† when the defection of the bad angels was first encountered. â€Å"In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth†¦ And God saw that it was good† (NRSV, Genesis 1). If the Bible states that God created everything good because He is good, then evil, according to Augustine, is the absence of good and does not have any positive being--- defective and lack ... ...ents, love God above all and love your neighbor as yourself, indicate that we should love the most what is objectively the best. Pride is a perverse kind of self-love and a feature of the will. Pride was the deficient cause of Satan freely choosing himself over God and continues to be a relevant cause for humans as result of â€Å"The Original Sin.† In redemption, Jesus Christ, a model of humility, was the Second Adam who because of grace sacrifices Himself to bear and forgive humans of sin. I believe that we can choose to will good or to will evil. To freely will the love for the ultimate good means to willingly love God above all. Although our nature is subject to pride and is deficient in goodness, we can still choose what is good. By having this rightly ordered love , we choose the highest good. As a reward, God gives the gift of true happiness in the afterlife.

computer architecture :: essays papers

computer architecture Computer architecture covers the design of system software, such as the operating system (the program that controls the computer), as well as referring to the combination of hardware and basic software that links the machines on a computer network. Computer architecture refers to an entire structure and to the details needed to make it functional. Thus, computer architecture covers computer systems, microprocessors, circuits, and system programs. Typically the term does not refer to application programs, such as spreadsheets or word processing, which are required to perform a task but not to make the system run. In designing a computer system, architects consider five major elements that make up the system's hardware: the arithmetic/logic unit, control unit, memory, input, and output. The arithmetic/logic unit performs arithmetic and compares numerical values. The control unit directs the operation of the computer by taking the user instructions and transforming them into electrical signals that the computer's circuitry can understand. The combination of the arithmetic/logic unit and the control unit is called the central processing unit (CPU). The memory stores instructions and data. The input and output sections allow the computer to receive and send data, respectively. Different hardware architectures are required because of the specialized needs of systems and users. One user may need a system to display graphics extremely fast, while another system may have to be optimized for searching a database or conserving battery power in a laptop computer. In addition to the hardware design, the architects must consider what software programs will operate the system. Software, such as programming languages and operating systems, makes the details of the hardware architecture invisible to the user. For example, computers that use the C programming language or a UNIX operating system may appear the same from the user's viewpoint, although they use different hardware architectures. When a computer carries out an instruction, it proceeds through five steps. First, the control unit retrieves the instruction from memory—for example, an instruction to add two numbers. Second, the control unit decodes the instructions into electronic signals that control the computer. Third, the control unit fetches the data (the two numbers). Fourth, the arithmetic/logic unit performs the specific operation (the addition of the two numbers). Fifth, the control unit saves the result (the sum of the two numbers). Early computers used only simple instructions because the cost of electronics capable of carrying out complex instructions was high. As this cost decreased in the 1960s, more complicated instructions became possible. Complex instructions can save time because they make it unnecessary for the computer to retrieve additional instructions. For example, if seven operations are combined in one instruction, then six of

Mephisto Products Ltd

Unit Title: Marketing PrinciplesUnit Code: 4Date Issued: 6th March 2013 Student Name: Andrei OlariuStudent ID: P1003160Due Date: March 2013 Module Leader John HeatherInternal Verifier Name M. Azam Mephisto Products Ltd Mephisto ltd raised from form the idea of an engineer James Watkinson which married the daughter of the owner of a detergent manufacturer, where also realised hi can improve the work in the chemical industries and make it more qualitative and much safer.He started first to manufacture safety devices for his father-in-low and then grow wider because he believed in his product and he introduce it on the market focusing on chemical industry only, but for that needed a plan to penetrate the market. Because the customers did not know about his product and they were not aware of such a device might be needed for their mechanisms a team of salesman’s took the product and successfully sales it over the country.Also started to do some advertising and promotions from some parts of his profits, for a while there were some discounts for larger orders to make potential customers buy the product but Watkinson’s philosophy was: ‘If they want the product badly enough they will wait for it’, as well as: ‘Why offer discounts for larger quantities – if they did not want that many they will not order them. ’ During for five years the business was very successfully, but unlikely its market share dropped drastic when on the market new competition arrived with more innovative products.Now Jim Bullins the senior executive at Mephisto decided is time for a new marketing director to come aboard. What Mephisto Is looking to accomplish with a new marketing director is to establish, expand and maintain relationships with customers and partners. Defined by (AMA 2007): â€Å"Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers , clients, partners, and society at large. Defined by (CIM 2001): â€Å"Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably† The marketing manager has to create a plan that shows all the steps that needs to be undertaken to achieve the business marketing objectives. That plan has to include and not to be limited to: The demand of product and services, a description of its competitors and a stand point of the business and its competitors for their strengths and weaknesses. Also is important to include a description of the product and services rendered with possible future improvements. -An advertising, promotional and loyalty program plan included in the marketing budget. -A pricing strategy. Mephisto believed its product is unique and high quality, which that makes it superior and customers will like it and buy it straight away. The problem on this approach is that’s not enough for a product to b e superior to sell out, unless you satisfy the clients with what they want and what they need.Mephisto should have done a marketing research to help them see what is going on into their marketing environment, like what the customers think about their product, how are their needs changing, the competitors strategies and in which way macro and micro environment affects the business. When realised sales dropped down the company should take in consideration an improvement to the product and some updates to try and stay ahead on the market and not fall beyond their competitors. Benefits of marketing orientation for Mephisto: Is the focus on the customer and their needs and this is just the first step.

Free Essays on Sports Stadiums In Urban Areas

Many of our local political and community leaders and the owners of professional sports teams claim that professional sports stadiums and franchises are important parts of their cities economic growth in urban areas. These stadiums and teams supposedly give millions of dollars of new spending every year and make hundreds of new jobs, and this allegedly should justify for the hundreds of millions of dollars of public funding. Despite these claims there is no real evidence of helpful financial impact of professional sports teams and stadiums on our urban economies. This is really important for us to understand because some of our communities are suffering, and we are just voting without even thinking about the impact it has on our urban economy. We just think alright we’re getting a great looking stadium or even a brand new pro team and voting for it without even knowing the rewards we might get or might not get. Even though there are some rewards for having a team or new stadium, which is good for pride in a community, I think we are not getting the money we should out of these stadiums and franchises and put back into our communities. This should be important to us because we are putting an awful lot of money, fan devotion, and heart into these facilities and teams and not getting our share back. Sports stadiums and franchises appear to be good candidates for economic development plans aimed at stimulating urban neighborhoods. Sporting events are wildly popular throughout the world and widely understood and appreciated by residents of cities. In the United States, new sports facilities are always said to be important components of urban redevelopment plans and sources of considerable economic growth in terms of job creation and income production. Cities provide the owners of professional sports franchises with hundreds of millions of dollars of financial support for the construction of new stadiums and arenas and expect t... Free Essays on Sports Stadiums In Urban Areas Free Essays on Sports Stadiums In Urban Areas Many of our local political and community leaders and the owners of professional sports teams claim that professional sports stadiums and franchises are important parts of their cities economic growth in urban areas. These stadiums and teams supposedly give millions of dollars of new spending every year and make hundreds of new jobs, and this allegedly should justify for the hundreds of millions of dollars of public funding. Despite these claims there is no real evidence of helpful financial impact of professional sports teams and stadiums on our urban economies. This is really important for us to understand because some of our communities are suffering, and we are just voting without even thinking about the impact it has on our urban economy. We just think alright we’re getting a great looking stadium or even a brand new pro team and voting for it without even knowing the rewards we might get or might not get. Even though there are some rewards for having a team or new stadium, which is good for pride in a community, I think we are not getting the money we should out of these stadiums and franchises and put back into our communities. This should be important to us because we are putting an awful lot of money, fan devotion, and heart into these facilities and teams and not getting our share back. Sports stadiums and franchises appear to be good candidates for economic development plans aimed at stimulating urban neighborhoods. Sporting events are wildly popular throughout the world and widely understood and appreciated by residents of cities. In the United States, new sports facilities are always said to be important components of urban redevelopment plans and sources of considerable economic growth in terms of job creation and income production. Cities provide the owners of professional sports franchises with hundreds of millions of dollars of financial support for the construction of new stadiums and arenas and expect t...

Final Project Ms. Z Assesment Essays - Psychology, Free Essays

Final Project Ms. Z Assesment Essays - Psychology, Free Essays Final Project an Assessment of Ms. Z February 24, 2019 Final Project an Assessment of Ms. Z Introduction Ms. Z was referred to us pursuing a recommendations and advisement on returning to school to receive a four-year degree to further education goals and future employment opportun i t ies (Project Vignette two, n.d). She is also seeking diagnostic insights to enhancing her quality of life and dealing with her mental health issues. Ms. Z is a 35-year-old female of African American decent and is married with two children. She has received her high school diploma and has completed two years of college. C urrently she is employed at a local insurance agency as an office manager and her husband works there as well (Project Vignette two, n.d). Ms. Z has been dealing with mental health issue for approximately 17 years first receiving services at age 18 for "mood swings". Within the past three years she has experienced increased depression and was treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which did offer short-term relief. Ms. Z has also been admitted into a psychiatric hospital following a suicide attempt (Project Vignette Two , n.d) . Currently she is receiving anti -depressant medications and her husband offers a strong support system who currently assumes household duties when depression is unmanageable. However, her depressed moods continue interfering with daily activities (Project Vignette Two, n.d) . In order to better understand and receive a clearer picture of Ms. Z's educational and employment needs along with needed insights on her mental health issues she was administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale -Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV). Test and Assessment Development Analysis : Test One Administration Administration of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) consists of 567 statements that are answered true or false and takes 60 to 90 minutes to complete (Benet, 2016). T he MMPI-2 is administered, scored and interpreted by a psychiatrist who had separate training in MMPI use or a professional such as a clinical psychologist (Benet, 2016). The test can be either a computerized version or paper and pencil and be either a group setting or administered individually . The MMPI-2 is used to assess a wide-range of emotional, behavioral and personality disorders (Benet, 2016). However, it has also been utilized in other areas not associated to clinical psychology. Normed Populations The normative sample for the MMPI-2 involves 2,600 individuals ( 1,138 males and 1,462 females ). Individuals who are ages 18 and older and are selected representatives of the United States population with similar samples that originate from s everal military bases and federal Indian reservation (Benet, 2016; Butcher et al., 2001). What the test yields The MMPI-2 was d esigned to use as an unbiased personality test for the measurement of mental disorders. Furthermore, the MMPI-2 is used to the same degree as an assessment, screening, selection, and prediction applications in research and clinical settings (Benet, 2016; Butcher et al., 2001). The original MMPI was fostered to assist in the assessment of adult psychiatric patients, describing the severity and nature of their disorder also to measure any changes over time (Brokaw, 2013). Reliability and Validity Reliability is measured with test-retest data o f 82 males and 11 females , a retest was done after a median of 7 days (Benet, 2016; Wise, Streiner, and Walfish, 2010) . The c orrelation coefficients ranged from .67 to .92 for males (median r = .82), and from .58 to .91 for females (median r = .79) (Benet, 2016; Wise, Streiner, and Walfish, 2010). Development of additional validity indicators were developed for MMPI-2. Individuals who complete inventory in an invalid approach are identified by F B (Back F) scales (Benet, 2016; Wise, Streiner, and Walfish, 2010). Additionally, delivering an index of a client's tendency to react in ways that are not only inconsistent but also contradictory is identified as a Variable Response Inconsistency (VRIN) scale was designed to identify random responding and a True Response Inconsistency (TRIN) scale was designed to identify fixed responses (Benet, 2016; Wise, Streine r, and Walfish, 2010). Cut Scores With the MMPI-2 answers are scored on four validity scales which evaluate the client's general test-taking manner and if

The 21 Best News Roundups for Self-Publishing Authors

The 21 Best News Roundups for Self-Publishing Authors The 21 Best News Roundups for Self-Publishing Authors The sheer amount of information that comes flowing from the internet every week can be overwhelming - especially when you’re living in the ever-evolving world of self-publishing. To help streamline your learning (and cut back on hours of aimless browsing), we’ve put together a list of our favorite writing and self-publishing roundups.As we discover new roundups, we’ll be adding and subtracting entries from this list. If you know of any great publishing-related roundups, let us know in the comments below, and we might find a place for it on this page!General Publishing Roundups1.  The Book DesignerJoel Friedlander’s site has for long been a haven for book design obsessives like us. It also boasts an excellent weekly blog roundup that uncovers tips on writing, publishing, and - of course - book design.2.  The Digital ReaderLooking for a quick shot of book news at the breakfast table?   Nate Hoffelder offers an artisan blend of links in his Morning C offee round-up for readers and publishing enthusiasts who can’t wait a whole week for their fix of publishing news. Check out some of the best news roundups for #selfpub authors 3.  IndieReader We will regularly refresh this page, so if you know of a solid news roundup that shares information, tips, and advice for  self-publishing authors, let us know in the comments below!

Trading Liberty for Illusions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Trading Liberty for Illusions - Assignment Example To start with, Wendy Kaminer in her article â€Å"Trading Liberty for Illusions† argues that liberty of people has often been compromised for the sake of promising safety for the general population. The most affected, according to the author, appear to be ethnic minorities, who become an embodiment of the hated regimes. Whenever Americans felt frightened they have responded: â€Å"by persecuting immigrants, members of suspect ethnic groups, or other guilty of sympathy for unpopular beliefs†. (Kaminer) Moreover, Kaminer suggests that if to look back into the history, one would find many examples when targeting particular individuals was justified under the promise of ensuring the common good.In â€Å"Kyllo vs the United States: technology Versus Individual Privacy† Thomas Colbridge supports the argument made by Kaminer. To illustrate that infringements on privacy become an issue, he resorts to the Kyllo v. the United States: Technology v. Individual Privacy case i n which after the years of debates, the Supreme Court finally recognized that the police conducted unconstitutional search. The subject matter of a case was the usage of a thermal imager of a home to scan marijuana plants, which was conducted without a warrant and therefore, infringed on privacy of home owners. Subsequently, the author explains that the liberty and privacy of an individual is often regarded as secondary in importance when it comes to the police fulfilling its duties. Furthermore, Kaminer exposes that the usage of the new surveillance technologies is not reasonable as far as their effectiveness can be questioned. For instance, it is argued that Facial recognitions systems are not working as they should as far as they never â€Å"identified even a single individual contained in the department’s database of photographs†.  

Childbearing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Childbearing - Essay Example This happens when the mother is drinking alcohol, smoking or using illegal drugs during pregnancy. As vulnerable as he is, the child has no choice whether or not to take these materials since the membrane wherein exchange happens is only a cell thick (Pillitteri, 2007) and minute breaks could surely allow the entrance of materials inside the growing organism's body. With this occurrence, the use of illegal drugs, alcohol and even tobacco smoking is highly discouraged to pregnant women. In the early 1990s, there is a very limited attention in law regarding this case. Though many have been challenged and litigated for using these discouraged drugs while carrying a child inside their wombs, many mothers have been saved. However, the case of Jennifer Clarice Johnson was unique among them. Among an estimated 375,000 children every year being delivered by mothers who use illegal drugs, very few have been tried and convicted. To prevent the dreadful future of these children, authorities have been arresting mothers whose newly-delivered children tested positive for illegal drugs and most cases are from South Carolina and Florida (Lewin, 1992). Jennifer Clarice Johnson is a twenty-three year old African-American woman residing in Florida, who was charged, tried and convicted with two-counts of delivery of illegal substance to a minor through the umbilical cord (Paltrow, 1992). In fact, Johnson was the first woman to be convicted of such case. The charges brought about to the penalty of one-year treatment sentence and fourteen years of probation. The case was filed on account of her two children, a son who was born 1987 and a daughter born 1989. Both children made a positive result for cocaine after being tested and made Ms. Johnson guilty on July the same year she gave birth to her youngest child- the daughter. Johnson admitted to the use of cocaine the day before her delivery of both children though both were delivered healthy and in full-term (Lewin, 1992). However, authorities pursued of trying her into courts which made her guilty of the case. The verdict however, gained media attention and several authorities of law gave their disappointed remarks regarding the ruling because of its unconstitutionality. THE LAW: PROCEDURES AND RULES OF LAW The Florida Supreme Court gave a guilty verdict on the Johnson, vs. State of Florida case due to several rules and laws which the court interpreted as applicable to the case at bar. First is that according to Section 893.13(1) (c) 1. Florida Statutes (1989), any person 18 years of age or older who uses a person under the age of 18 in the delivery of any controlled substance is unlawful (Johnson, vs. State of Florida, 1992). With this statute applied to Florida, the case of Johnson was formulated. After being convicted of the case filed against her, Johnson filed an appeal for the court to reverse the conviction casted upon her. And in the year 1992, the Florida Supreme Court has indeed reversed the ruling due to some more substantiated evidences and interpretations of law. In the Florida statute stated above, there is really a discrepancy in the use of the term delivery. Delivery in the statute unclearly refers to the delivery of drug through a mother's umbilical cord and that the legislative history does not manifest

F. R. Leaviss Description of Hard Times as a Moral Fable Essay

F. R. Leaviss Description of Hard Times as a Moral Fable - Essay Example To delve deep into the contention of this great man regarding one of the all time masterpieces in English literature, â€Å"Hard Times† by Charles Dickens and to examine the contention of Leavis regarding â€Å"Hard Times† as a moral fable, it become mandatory at the outset, to analyse and explore the subtle aspects operating through the novel’s scheme of things and the background and social conditions in which it was produced. Since the publication of the novel, it has been widely received and criticised by different critics across the globe and from different age. Apart from Leavis, George Bernard Shaw and Thomas Macaulay had criticised the novel on the aspect of Dickens’ delineation of the Utilitarian, trade unions and post-Industrial Revolution which neatly divided the capitalist mill owners and worker class in the British society during Victorian Era. Hard Times as A Moral Fable: Through the Eyes of Leavis ‘Hard Times - For These Times’ o r popularly known by the name of only Hard Times is the tenth novel authored by Charles Dickens and was published in the year 1854. To understand the contention of F.R. Leavis in coining the novel as a moral fable, it becomes essentially important to understand the literary term ‘moral fable’ in the first place. Moral fable is a kind of a story that involves the imagination and logic and combines them at the same platform.

Eco fueling marketing report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Eco fueling marketing report - Research Paper Example 8 3.4 Technological factors†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.......... 8 4.0 Customer Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 9 5.0 Competitor Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 10 6.0 Stakeholder Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..... 11 7.0 Internal and External Analysis (SWOT) 7.1 Strengths†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 7.2 Weaknesses†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 12 7.3 Opportunities†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... 12 7.4 Threats†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦......... 12 8.0 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... 14 1.0 INTRODUCTION The creation of utility, the power of goods and services to satisfy wants or needs, is of utmost importance to a marketer. For a service or product to be considered valuable in the market, it has to benefit customers and offer lucrative returns to a company (Boone and Kurtz, 2009, p. 5). Critical analysis of marketing strategies is required if a company is to attain utility for its products and services. PEST, SWOT, stakeholder, customer and environmental scan analysis must be conducted to appraise current business strategies and formulate recommendations for the establishment of new strategies or improving on current... The creation of utility, the power of goods and services to satisfy wants or needs, is of utmost importance to a marketer. For a service or product to be considered valuable in the market, it has to benefit customers and offer lucrative returns to a company (Boone and Kurtz, 2009, p. 5). Critical analysis of marketing strategies is required if a company is to attain utility for its products and services. PEST, SWOT, stakeholder, customer and environmental scan analysis must be conducted to appraise current business strategies and formulate recommendations for the establishment of new strategies or improving on current ones. E-cofueling, a company based in Brisbane, is the focus of this marketing audit report. The company, which dealing in the development and distribution of ethanol co-fueling of diesel engines, as well as development of viable emission technologies, was established in 2009. Environmental scanning refers to the progressive process of gathering data regarding different phenomena in the market with a view to identify opportunities, as well as threats. As the current market remains active, changes are inevitable, which presents its fair share of threats and opportunities to a company. In order to carry out appropriate environment scans, a marketer must carry out extensive research and gather information pertaining social, technological, competitive, regulatory and economic factors that have a direct impact on market trends.

What are the major advantages and disadvantages of the four principles Essay

What are the major advantages and disadvantages of the four principles approach to health care ethics - Essay Example In the 1970s, theologian James Childress and philosopher Tom Beauchamp came up with the ‘four principles’ approach (Beauchamp 1994, p.35). They enrolled the four principles, which they believed could be considered over each other when making an ethical decision on matters pertaining to medicine. There has been a substantial evolution of the Principles of Biomedical Ethics since the first version of its kind of theory and the requirements of particular circumstances. Principlism has specifically changed into a realistic approach for ethical decision-making focusing on ethical principles of justice, autonomy, non-maleficence and beneficence. Principlism is usually attained from, and is consistent with many theological approaches, social and even ethical advances towards ethical decision-making. The advancement, which is pluralist in nature, is quite necessary when one has to make an ethical verdict in a society or institution because clusters of pluralist fields by descrip tion can concur with neither certain ethical theories nor their explanations. The adequate state rather is that majority of people and communities would concur that there exists an extensive concurrence on the common values of justice, non-maleficence, beneficence and autonomy. Justice The principle of justice means allotting the benefits and saddles of a particular verdict fairly. It demands for proper allotment of benefits, risks and expenses evenly. In the present era, communities are enlightened co-operations that are principled by ethical and legal features of justice that give meaning to the support requisites. Individuals in a community get fair treatment if they receive due and just treatment. The phrase ‘distributive justice’ brings out the meaning of impartial,... Center of discussion in this paper is Principlism, also known as the ‘four principles’ approach refers to a set of moral codes and principles that are employed by decision makers to arrive at decisions in any particular profession. The four principles related to the way of conduct in health. The principles include beneficence, justice, Non-maleficence and autonomy, which is the acknowledgement of a person’s right to make judgments and hold views based on personal beliefs and views. Each principle defines different affairs of concern in health. The principles have their basing in morality required in health. The preference over the four kinds of ethical principles as the structure for ethical decisions making in medical ethics originates partly from proficient background and responsibilities. The virtues and requirements of health professionals have constantly been edged by professional pledges to issue medical care and ensure protection of patients from system fai lure, harm or ailment. Although Beauchamp and Childress’s ethics try to set up on this structure, they considerably move away from it as they try to encompass parts of ethics that have been deserted traditionally in principles of health care, mainly via the ethics of respect for justice and independence. The four principles are required to issue a complete structure for biomedical ethics, but the common structure is only theoretical and is on standby until it gets advanced specification.

Eco fueling marketing report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Eco fueling marketing report - Research Paper Example 8 3.4 Technological factors†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.......... 8 4.0 Customer Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 9 5.0 Competitor Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 10 6.0 Stakeholder Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..... 11 7.0 Internal and External Analysis (SWOT) 7.1 Strengths†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 7.2 Weaknesses†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 12 7.3 Opportunities†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... 12 7.4 Threats†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦......... 12 8.0 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... 14 1.0 INTRODUCTION The creation of utility, the power of goods and services to satisfy wants or needs, is of utmost importance to a marketer. For a service or product to be considered valuable in the market, it has to benefit customers and offer lucrative returns to a company (Boone and Kurtz, 2009, p. 5). Critical analysis of marketing strategies is required if a company is to attain utility for its products and services. PEST, SWOT, stakeholder, customer and environmental scan analysis must be conducted to appraise current business strategies and formulate recommendations for the establishment of new strategies or improving on current... The creation of utility, the power of goods and services to satisfy wants or needs, is of utmost importance to a marketer. For a service or product to be considered valuable in the market, it has to benefit customers and offer lucrative returns to a company (Boone and Kurtz, 2009, p. 5). Critical analysis of marketing strategies is required if a company is to attain utility for its products and services. PEST, SWOT, stakeholder, customer and environmental scan analysis must be conducted to appraise current business strategies and formulate recommendations for the establishment of new strategies or improving on current ones. E-cofueling, a company based in Brisbane, is the focus of this marketing audit report. The company, which dealing in the development and distribution of ethanol co-fueling of diesel engines, as well as development of viable emission technologies, was established in 2009. Environmental scanning refers to the progressive process of gathering data regarding different phenomena in the market with a view to identify opportunities, as well as threats. As the current market remains active, changes are inevitable, which presents its fair share of threats and opportunities to a company. In order to carry out appropriate environment scans, a marketer must carry out extensive research and gather information pertaining social, technological, competitive, regulatory and economic factors that have a direct impact on market trends.

Thomas Hobbes and John Locke in Social Contract Theory Essay

Thomas Hobbes and John Locke in Social Contract Theory - Essay Example In these two books, Locke and Hobbes’ views on the social contract can be studied. Although Locke and Hobbes differ in their arguments and perceptions of social contract, they both agree that, in the state of nature, people will be more willing to choose state protection over their liberty. This is the core of social contract theory (Morris, 1999). In the social contract theory, both Hobbes and Locke argue that the state of nature is more likely to experience chaos. However, Locke views the state of nature and natural law from a more positive perspective as compared to Hobbes. Hobbes on the other side argues that highly egoistic people, whose probability of initiating war is very high, inhabit the state of nature. The function of Hobbes and Locke’s social contract theory was to serve as a way of citizens’ rights protection. However, these two differed on the manner in which this could be conducted. While Hobbes thought that a central authority could be responsible for the protection of citizens’ rights, Locke thought that division of power was necessary so that all citizens, including those in authority are held accountable to the law in society (Mack, 2009). Hobbes and Locke similarly address the roots of civilization using their concept of the state of nature. This is a term in political philosophy, which refers to the society without the emergence of the government system. Hobbes describes the state of nature as devoid of rule of war and inhabitants live in fear of death, and in brutality. He links brutality in the state of nature to the lack of rights, including property rights. Therefore, in this state, enmity between people crops from the competition for resources, as there are no rules that determine the legitimacy of property ownership by people. However, Locke’s view on the state of nature sharply contrasts Hobbes’ view. Locke thought that a central authority is not responsible for

Chinas Environmental Issues Essay Example for Free

Chinas Environmental Issues Essay China has many environmental issues, severely affecting its biophysical environment as well as human health. Rapid industrialization as well as lax environmental oversight have contributed to the problems. The Chinese government has acknowledged the problems and made various responses, resulting in some improvements, but the responses have been criticized as inadequate. As of 2012 there is increased citizen activism regarding government decisions which are perceived as being environmentally damaging. (Wikipedia) As China’s economic growth continues to blossom in 2007, with the countries GDP hitting 11. 4%, alongside China gets hit by an environmental crisis. Sixteen of the worlds twenty most polluted cities are in China. Experts say the Chinese government has made serious efforts to clean up and achieved many of the bid commitments. Beijing’s pledge to host a Green Olympics in the summer of 2008 signaled the countrys willingness to address its environmental problems for example. However, an environmentally sustainable growth rate remains a serious challenge for the country. (http://www.cfr.org/china/chinas-environmental-crisis/p12608) China’s major environmental issues: * Water- China suffers from water shortage and water pollution. About one-third of Chinas population lacks access to clean drinking water. s part of its effort to harness the nations water supply, China has a large dam-building program with over twenty-five thousand dams nationwide–more than any other nation. The dam projects are not only a high cost in terms of money, but also in farmland loss, ecological damage, and forced migration of millions of people, says the Woodrow Wilson Centers Jennifer L. Turner, director of its China Environment Forum, in a report for the Jamestown Foundation. * Land- Desertification in China leads to the loss of about 5,800 square miles of grasslands every year, an area roughly the size of Connecticut. The Worldwatch Institute, an environmental watchdog and research organization, reports that excessive farm cultivation, particularly overgrazing, is one of the leading causes of desertification. As the deforestation grows, so do the number of sandstorms; a hundred were expected between 2000 and 2009. Desertification also contributes to Chinas air pollution problems, with increasing dust causing a third of Chinas air pollution. * Greenhouse gases- In 2008, China surpassed the United States as the largest global emitter of greenhouse gases by volume. (Not per capita however) The increase in Chinas emissions is primarily due to the countrys reliance on coal, which accounts for over two-thirds of its energy consumption, contributing to sulfur dioxide emissions causing acid rain.

Gene Expression of Mitochondrial Enzymes from Exercise

Gene Expression of Mitochondrial Enzymes from Exercise Induced Change in Gene Expression of Mitochondrial Enzymes as a Result of Intense Exercise Abstract Exercise-induced changes in gene expression of mitochondrial enzymes has become a leading target for sports medicine research. Previous indirect testing of delayed-onset muscle soreness and changes in rotation of motion do not provide a sufficient explanation of the induced changes to the genome (Hubal, et al., 2010). Biomarker testing has allowed for detecting levels of proteins within a sample. Blood and serum levels, taken before and after exercise, have been analyzed and tested for changes in protein activity. Calf-raises show an increase in creatine kinase (CK) and aldolase (ALD) activities (Kanda, et al., 2014). MicroRNA arrays along with telomere extension mRNA arrays and quantitative real-time PCR on RNA taken from white blood cells have shown to down-regulate telomeric repeat binding factor 2 (Chilton, et al., 2014). Biochemical testing at the genomic level will provide a better understanding of the long-term effects of intense exercise. Knowing these high-intensity induced gene expressions in mitochondrial DNA aids in knowing what causes diseases such as Rhabdomyolysis. Introduction Centuries ago staying physically fit was accentual to stay alive. Those that were not fit were not able to kill prey and therefore would be less likely to survive. In today’s world, being physically fit is not a necessity, but rather something that many people strive for to live a healthy lifestyle. Living an active life lowers the chance of many diseases, such as kidney and Alzheimer’s, and cancers, such as colon and breast. It is therefore crucial to understand the biochemistry behind exercise as a helpful preventative measure for health problems. When exercising, the body is put through tasks that disrupt homeostasis. The body wants to eliminate wide spread deviants of homeostasis. However, after and during exercise the body needs more oxygen and energy to be able to complete the tasks one is putting on the body. These demands, the increase in affinity for oxygen and energy, require metabolic responses that disrupt homeostasis. To test these metabolic responses, many scientists use biomarker testing on whole blood and serum samples rather than pieces of skeletal muscle. Biomarkers are used to measure the presence of a physiological state. These markers have biological properties that measure the blood and serum. There are many different changes in the mitochondrial genome during and immediately following exercise. This paper will focus on an overview of some endurance training biomarkers, but will mainly focus on high intensity exercise and the induced gene expression in the mitochondrial genome. It is important to study the effects of exercise on gene expression to know at what levels of various genes, like lactate dehydrogenase, aldose, etc., come dangerous to human health as to prevention diseases such as Rhadomyolysis (Heled, et al., 2005). Proliferator-activated Receptors association with Exercise-Induced Mitochondrial Biogenesis Transcriptional cofactors peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PGC) regulate gene expression (Lin, et al., 2005). PGC-1a regulates gene expression in the mitochondrial genome. This coactivator interacts with other proteins to regulate contraction. Overexpression of PGC-1a results in an increase in mitochondrial gene function (Lin, et al., 2002). Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent kinase 2 (CaMKII), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and nitrogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) all have important signaling that help regulate PGC-1a (Hawley, et al., 2010). Calcium is important for energy due to its role in the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Contractions of skeletal muscle are dependent on high levels of calcium. The calcium then binds to troponin, which moves the myosin fibers resulting in muscle contractions. Calcium also plays a major role in calcium-calmodulin-dependent kinases. Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent kinase 2 (CaMKII) activation increases the transport of glucose in skeletal muscle (Rose, A. and Hargreaves, M., 2003). AMPK and MAPks activate PGC-1a, Figure 1, by phosphorylating transcription factors myocyte enhancer factor 2 and ATF-2, respectively (McGee and Hargreaves, 2010). Figure 1. Schematic of the Major Signaling Pathways Involved in the Control of Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy and Mitochondrial Biogenesis (Hawley, et al., 2010). The right side of this figure shows the correlation of the AMPK, CAMK, SIRT1, MAPK pathways that effect PGC-1a which regulates mitochondrial biogenesis. Another inhibitor of PGC-1a is a deactelyase silent mating type-information regulation 2 homolg 1 (SIRT1) (HIgashida, et al., 2013). Since SIRT1 is NADà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ º-dependent, Figure 1, changes in concentration of NADà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ º change the SIRT1 activity in the cell (Gurd, 2011). Many studies have shown that the protein content of SIRT1 and the activity are independent, and that because of that it is thought that the SIRT1 activity is what subsidizes to PGC-1a activity (Gurd 2011). Test For Correlation between SIRT1 and PGC-1a. The following experiment was performed by Chabi and coworkers to examine SIRT1’s role in muscle during muscle use (Chabi, et al., 2009). Rats were placed into a control group and a running group. The running group were able to run on a loaded wheel. Weight was added to the wheel during weeks one through four, but maintained a 200 g weight from weeks five through eight. The plantaris (PL) and soleus (SOL) muscles were taken as well as the tibialis anterior (TA) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) for analysis. Once the proteins were extracted, the SIRT1 activity and deacetylase was found by fluorescence. A cycling assay was used to determine the NAD nucleotides. Immunoblotting was done to test expression of PGC-1a, cytochrome c, SIRT1 and GAPDH. SIRT1 expression showed to be the highest in the liver and slow-twitch muscle while PGC-1a immunoreactivity was highest in the heart muscle. This experiment did not show a correlation between SIRT1 and PGC-1a expression, like the scientists hoped, but it did bring up the question if SIRT1 activity is altered by acute exercise instead of high-intensity. Eccentric Exercise and Muscle Damage Markers The following was performed by Kazue Kanda and coworkers to see if eccentric exercise affects muscle damage markers (Kanda, et al., 2014). Participates in this study each performed right calf-raises on a force plate to add 0.5 Hz to each lift. With 3 min for rest, forty repetitions for 10 sets were completed with half of their weight along with the added force. Immediately following these muscle contractions, the medial and lateral gastrocnemius and soleus were measured for tenderness using a FP meter. The meter rated based on a visual analogue scale from no pain to extremely sore. The ankle was tested for range of motion (ROM) along the dosiflexion position (-20 ) to the plantar flexion position (15). Both of tenderness of the calf and the ROM was tested at 24 h increments until 168 h after the repetitive muscle contractions. After 72 h the tenderness of the right calf increased significantly (p Subsequently, samples from the blood and urine were taken both before and at various times after the exercise. Various proteins, creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), aldolase (ALD) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were tested from the serum. An Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to test for fatty acid-binding proteins (FABP). The activities of CK and AST increased significantly post 72 h. The activities of ALT and ALD also increased for each sample, however, it was not significant. LDH activity had a significant increase at 96 h after exercise, but not really before. The results for ALD did correlate with the tenderness of the medial gastrocnemius at the 72 h mark and could suggest that ALD might be a better muscle damage indicator because the other proteins tested did not correlate with tenderness. The ELISA testing on FABP resulted in no detectable changes. This experiment used two methods of testing muscle damage and had correlated results for ALD. Exercise-Induced biochemical changes in Quadriceps and Gastrocnemius in Mice The following was performed by L. Toti and coworkers to see the changes in blood lactate as well as mitochondrial enzymes as a result of two different exercises; intense activity with recovery periods and moderate activity with no recovery periods (Toti, et al., 2013). Immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry were used to assess the two muscle groups, the quadriceps and gastrocnemius, to see expression of enzymes correlated with oxidative metabolism. Mice were divided into three different groups based on similar maximal velocities. Mice with higher maximal velocities partaked in the intense activity: running at 90% for 2 min followed by 1 min of recovery. The mice with lower mamximal velocities partaked in continuous running at 60% velocity. Data was collected for 40 sessions, where each mouse ran a distance of 1000 meters. Blood samples were taken at sessions 1, 20 and 40. Blood lactate was tested and showed a decrease in both groups by session 40, with the higher-velocity group measuring significantly lower than the lower-velocity group. Immunochemistry testing resulted in an increase in response for the high-velocity mice for both the quadriceps and the gastrocnemius. This experiment showed that high-intensity training impacted the biochemistry more so than the low-velocity training. MicroRNA Expression and Telomere-Associated Genes After Acute Exercise The following was performed by W. Chilton and coworkers to see mechanisms the correlation between white blood cell (WBC) telomere length and exercise (Chiltion, et al., 2014). Participants in this study ran on a treadmill for 30 min at 80% of maximum oxygen uptake. Blood samples were taken before and immediately following the running as well as an hour post-running. MicroRNA expression arrays that could measure a whole genome, were used on the samples. TERT mRNA expression levels were then tested by qPCR. Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) mRNA and Sirtuin-6 (SIRT6) were two of the genes tested. This experiment was able to show supporting evidence that the transcriptional regulation of key telomeric genes can be affected by exercise. TERT mRNA was upregulated as well as the SIRT6. The qPCR testing on TERT and SIRT6 showed the increase in binding miRNA. Chilton did express that the increases in both the SIRT6 and the TERT mRNAs could have been upregulations from the extra-telomeric pathways instead of just the telomeric roles since there was no definitive way to differentiate between the two in this experiment. It is important to understand exercise’s effects on telomeres and its corresponding proteins to gain an insight on how physical health improves telomere homeostasis, keeping the telomeres from getting too short and the cell dying. Chemokine Polymorphisms Association with Skeletal Muscle Damage The following experiment was performed by M. Hubal and coworkers to see if chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) and chemokine receptor 2 (CCR 2) are associated with biomarkers after exercising (Hubal, et al., 2010). CCL2 is important because it recruits necessary items, such as memory T cells, dendritic cells, and monocytes, to inflammation sites in injured tissue. CCR2, the receptor molecule for CCL2, mediates with calcium mobilization. It is suggested that CCL2 and CCR3 play major roles in the repair of skeletal muscle damage. Participants performed two, 25 contractions, sets of elbow flexor muscle contractions in the non-dominant arm. It was crucial that the participants had constant maximal effort and stayed hydrated the 10 days following the exercise. Blood samples were taken and sent for genotyping. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) known to influence the level of CCL2 proteins were analyzed using PCR. There were four SNPs from CCL2 and three from CCR2 that should high phenotype associations. The minor allele found in the SNPs was correlated with an increase in damage. This study was able to show that variations of the CCL2 and CCR2 genes are related to muscle damage markers caused by exercise. Molecular and Metabolic Changes of High-intensity Interval Training The following experiment was performed by J. Little and coworkers to assess the molecular and metabolic changes of high-intensity interval training (Little, et al., 2010). Participants performed six cycling training sessions over the course of two weeks. Each session consisted of approximately 30 min of high intensity intervals. By the last sessions, the subjects were completing 12 intervals of 60 s high-intensity cycling followed by 75 s low intensity for recovery. Biopsies from the leg were taken before and after the two week training. The muscle lysates were taken for Western blotting and enzyme activity testing. Western blotting was used to test for glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4), PGC-1a, and SIRT1while the mitochondrial enzyme activity was tested on cytochrome c oxidase (COX). The subjects improved in both time and power, about 10%, for cycling during the two week training session. COX activity increased by 29%. PGC-1a increased by approximately 24%, however, the protein itself was did not have any genetic changes. GLUT4 content increased by 119%, while SIRT1 increased by approximately 56%. This experiment showed some changes, due to exercise, in regulators that are important in mitochondrial biogenesis. Conclusion There are many induced changes in the mitochondrial genome during and after exercise. These changes occur to help maintain cell homeostasis while the body is being put through stress during intense exercise. Blood and serum samples along with tissue extractions have provided a way to examine these changes and see how one is correlated with another (Figure 1). PGC-1a helps muscle contractions by regulating gene expression in mitochondria biogenesis. However, PGC-1a has many cofactors helping it. CaMKII, AMPK, and MAPKs all help in providing energy to the skeletal muscles by impacting the activation of PGC-1a. Although SIRT1 deactelyation inhibits PGC-1a, it still impacts the biochemistry of the body during workouts due to deactelyation. LDH activity was shown to increase hours after high-intensity exercise because LDH it is released as pyruvate is converted into lactate. ALD, which converts sugar into energy, was found to be a good indicator because in the calf-raises experiment the results from the biomarker testing as well as the tenderness testing correlated with each other. CCL2 and CCR2 were found to have changes in SNPs that corresponded to the high-intensity exercise and most likely aide in the recruiting of the memory T cells and dendritic cells to the injured tissue. High-intensity exercise, without time for recovery, would keep the body maintained at a stressful state of trying to bring it back to homeostasis. As proven in the calf-raise experiment, LDH levels decreased as the participants were able to come accustom to the exercises. The bodies were no longer in shock. If the bodies were did not become accustom, or the body was not given any time for recovery, the chances of obtaining diseases such as Rhabdomyolysis increases. Future experiments need to focus on what levels of these regulators will become dangerous. Research should be down to further understand the relationship between SIRT1 and PGC-1a. References Chabi, B., Adhihetty, P.J., O’Leary, M.F., Menzies, K.J., and Hood, D. (2009) Relationship between sirt1 expression and mitochondrial proteins during conditions of chronic muscle use and diuse. J. Appl. Physiol. 107(6):1730-1735. Chilton, W., Marques, F., West, J., Kannourakis, G., Berzins, S., O’Briend, B., and Charchar, F. (2014) Acute Exercise Leads to Regulation of Telomere-Associated Genes and MicroRNA Expression in Immune Cells. PLoS ONE. 9, 1-13. Gurd, B. (2011) Deacetylation of PGC-1a by SIRT1: importance for skeletal muscle function and exercise-induced mitochondrial biogenesis. App. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 36:589-597. Hawley, J., Hargreaves, M., Joyner, M., and Zierath, J. (2010) Integrative Biology of Exercise. Cell 159, 738-749. Heled., Y., Zarian., A., Moran., D., and Hadad, E. (2005) Exercise induced rhabdomyolysis – characteristics, mechanisms and treatment. Harefuah 144(1):34-8. Hubal, M., Devaney, J., Hoffman, E., Zambraski, E., Gordish-Dressman, H., Kerns, A., Larking, J., Adham, K., Patel, R., and Clarkson, P. (2010) CCL2 and CCR2 polymorphisms are associated with markers of exercise-induced skeletal muscle damage. J of App Physicol 108(6), 1651-1658. Kanda, K., Sugama, K., Sakuma, J., Kawakami, Y., and Suzuki, K. (2014) Evaluation of serum leaking enzymes and investigation into new biomarkers for exercise-induced muscle damage Exerc Immunol Rev. 20, 39-54. Lin, J., Wu, H., Tarr, P., Zhang, C., Wu, Z., Boss, O., Michael, L., Puigserver, P., Isotani, E., Olson, E., Lowell, B., Bassel-Duby, R., and Spiegelman, B. (2002). Transcriptional co-activator PGC-1 alpha drives the formation of slow-twitch muscle fibres. Nature 418, 797-801. Lin, J., Handschin, C., and Spiegelman, B. (2005). Metabolic control through the PGC-1 family of transcription coactivators. Cell. Metab. 1, 361-370. Little, J.P., Safdar, A., Wilkin, G.P., Tarnopolsky, M.A., and Gibala, M.J. (2010) A practical model of low-volume high intensity interval training induces mitochondrial biogenesis in human skeletal muscle: potential mechanisms. J. Physiol. 588(6):1011-1022. McGee, S., Hargreaves, M. (2010). AMPK-mediated regulation of transcription in skeletal muscle. Clin. Sci. 118, 258-263. Rose, A.J., and Hargreaves, M. (2003). Exercise increases -calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activity in human skeletal muscle. J. Physiol. 265, E380-E391. Toti, L., Bartalucci, A., Ferrucci, M., Fulceri, F., Lazzeri, G., Lenzi, P., Soldani, P., Gobbi, P., La Torre, A., and Gesi, M. (2013) High-intensity exercise training induces morphological and biochemical changes in skeletal muscles. Biol Sport 30(4), 301-309. Alissa Christian

Essay --

Strengths Here at Admatch there has been very little turnover among employees. There are a total of 12 employees that work here in total, and out of that total 7 are full time employees, and 4 are part time. Out of the 7 full time employees 4 of them have worked for Admatch for at least 18 years. I have worked here at Admatch for a total of 8 years this part November of 2013. We here at Admatch have all the knowledge we need to know about all of the products that we sell. This is great because when our customers need to call us for a question they need answered they can usually ask for who they would like to speak with or they can talk to someone else they have spoken to a few times. Most of our customers have a favorite person they like to speak with when calling us here at Admatch. This also helps us to build customer relationships and loyalty all at the same time. It kind of reminds me of the television show â€Å"Cheers† theme song, â€Å"Where everybody knows your name.† Another great reason why having very little turnover among employees here at Admatch is because work can get done efficiently and effectively. We all know and understand how each other work, and we know what part each of us plays in the company. This helps us to build our relationship with each other to make working together much easier. We also get to have fun sometimes while working. It will be pretty tuff to do that with new employees who don’t yet understand the relationship we all have with each other. We also know the go to person for certain situations. What some people have as a weakness other people have as their strength. I know exactly who to go to for pricing help or with a customer service problem on an order. For some people you may think it is the same ... ...t for us to sell. When we do not fulfill those needs they tend to go elsewhere without taking a second look at all the other products that we can offer. Admatch has seen much of our business being lost to our competitors. When contacted by one of the employees in our sales team and asked why we have not seen any new business or repeat order, the answers Admatch gets are With inflation increasing at such a rapid rate, the price of materials to produce products have also increased. This is very tuff to for Admatch because that means prices have to rise. Admatch has had to raise their prices for the last 3 to 4 years at about 10% a year on all items that the company sells. While Admatch has held out for a long as possible in increasing prices, they soon began to realize they had no choice in the matter. Everything from paper to ink to overhead expenses has increased.

Two Halves of the Same Song

Two Halves of the Same Song â€Å"My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America† (526). This is the first sentence in â€Å"Two Kinds† by Amy Tan spoken by the narrator’s point of view, Jing-mei, the daughter. The story was a direct reflection of love vs. rebellion with the mother and the daughter, presented in a humorous almost sounding sarcastic tone to show the two kinds of people in the story; the one the mother thought the daughter should be and the one the daughter thought she should be, and in the end they realized that that was the same person. The story begins by giving humor to some of the mothers beliefs as if they were silly; such as in America a person is unlimited to what they could be even if that is to be famous or simply a homeowner, To understand what the mother meant you would have to know a little about her background and where she came from. She was from China where women didn’t have very many options on what their role in life could be, so for her daughter she felt that there were endless possibilities. Her mother in my eyes was more of what we like to call â€Å"stage moms†. She hoped for her daughter to be the best at something, anything instead of nothing at all, so she came across pushy verses loving. One would think that these were the mothers dreams trying to be fulfilled through the daughter. Jing-mei started to feel like she had to be someone she wasn’t in order to make her mother proud. She said â€Å"I was filled with a sense that I would soon be perfect. My mother and father would adore me† (527). Apparently she felt like if she wasn’t great at something they wouldn’t love her. The narrator makes it seem like it was the mother all along who wanted the daughter to be something she wasn’t, but at one point the daughter wanted to succeed just as much as much as her mother did, but the fear of failure and rejection stopped her. Next came the piano lessons. The idea of Jing-mei playing the piano was odd, because her mother was watching an American TV show and saw a young Chinese girl playing. â€Å"Ni-Kan† her mother would say which meant, you watch, and then made her practice the piano day after day to become better than the Chinese girl on TV. After this point the daughter rebels against the mother trying to fail to prove that this is who she was, â€Å"ordinary†. If she didn’t try at anything she couldn’t fail. The daughter didn’t realize how proud her mother was of her just for trying. In the earlier days when you were born you were born into a certain class, and that class defined who you could become in life whether it be a king, farmer, merchant, or a blacksmith. In this story the situation seems very similar. Why would Jing-mei want to be famous or talented when her mother was merely a house cleaner? Maybe she was content with the life she was born into and didn’t feel as if she needed to be talented to be happy. Her mother put her in a recital bragging to her friends how Jing-mei loved to play the piano. This was her opportunity to show her mother who she was and it wasn’t the person she wanted her to be, so Jing-mei went up and played horribly. However, through all of the disobedience trying to stay true to who she was, which seemed to be a slacker, the mother still pushed her to try and not give up. Years later the mother dies and Jing-mei realizes that her mother truly did love her and was proud of her. She only pushed her because she wanted her to be the best at who she wanted to be and let her know that just because you are born into a certain lifestyle that doesn’t define who you are, you define who you are. The tone of the story begins to sound happy verses the angry, sarcastic, and once comical tone making fun of the mother. Jing-mei actually starts to get the point her mother tried so hard to install in her. One of the last sentences of the story caught my eye. It seemed to sum up everything in the story and why the conflicts of interests occurred. â€Å"And after I played them both a few times, I realized they were two halves of the same song†(534). Two halves of the same song could have been the title for Any Tan’s short story. The mother and the daughter both wanted the same things: for the daughter to be happy, and be the best at what made her happy but looking at it from only one way you would not have figured that out. In this story it was told solely from the daughters point of view. If the mother were to narrate this story it would have been completely different. Maybe she would have not seemed as so unhappy with her life that she had to live it through her daughters, but the daughter would have seemed as someone who didn’t care for there mothers affection and just wanted to be disobedient. There is always two sides to a story but in this case they seemed to be arguing the same story. â€Å" Two halves of the same song†(534).