International Law †Definition Essay

There have been many attempts at codifying the laws governing international activities. An international law essentially governs international activities, or activities that have international implications, between two sovereign nations or entities by common rules, standards and conditions. The concept of legally binding agreements with an international scope was first introduced by Jeremy Bentham in the last quarter of the 18th Century (ILC, 2009). Jeremy Bentham was an English philosopher who first coined the idea of an international law that would regulate all important activities or aspects of international activities like commerce, justice, high sea activity, illegal acts, sovereignty, self defense and crime (Britannica, 2009). International law is inherently different from other laws as it primarily addresses the concerns of nations and not private citizens. It can legally be categorized into three different legal disciplines: 1. Public international law deals with common law issues between sovereign states and international organizations. Legal areas that are covered under the ambit of Public international law include international crime, high sea issues and humanitarian laws. 2. Private international law also called as conflict of laws, addresses the issue of ‘private relations’ across national borders and decides on the jurisdiction of the law. It has its roots in all the conventions, model laws, sovereign laws, legal guides, and all other documents and related instruments that govern such international relationships (ASIL, 2009). 3. Supranational law also called the law of supranational organizations, governs regional agreements between two international entities and distinguishingly nullifies laws of the respective nations in a situation of conflict with their sovereign laws. Public International Law Public international law relates to the form and ‘conduct’ of individual states and various organizations across the globe. Over a period of time, there has been an increased international activity and globalization has further enabled internationalization of issues. These issues, whether, economic, geo-political, environmental, criminal or else, find their right place under the ambit of Public international law. Public international law mainly has two branches that that deal with international issues. ‘jus gentium’ or ‘Law of nations’ was initially used by the Roman empire when they dealt with foreigners. Law of nations is a common law among nations that deals with issues like peace and war, extraditions, national boundaries and international diplomatic exchanges (Wiki, 2009). The other branch of Public international law, known as ‘Jus inter gentes’, also finds its roots in the Roman law system. This branch mainly deals with international treaties, conventions and other agreements between sovereign nations and international organizations. Public international law is also used to address sovereignty issues of nations, their boundary issues and jurisdictions. They also identify the legal responsibilities of a state, their jurisdiction of a territory and other territorial issues. This may lead to a situation of conflict between the international law itself and the sovereign state. Private International Law Private international law as described earlier addresses the issues between two private international entities. This branch of law regulates all the lawsuits that involve an element ‘foreign’ in nature and ones that may result in different interpretations and judgments depending on the jurisdiction of the subject (Collier, 2001). Private international law, in a situation of conflict between two international entities, determines if the proposed forum has any jurisdiction at all over the conflict situation. It then analyses and decides on the ability of competing state laws in dealing with the dispute. This branch of international law is also responsible for enforcement of the law. The term ‘conflict of Laws’ generally refers to the disparities between laws and reflects this disparity irrespective of the fact whether the legal system is international or inter-state. The term ‘conflict of laws’ is used by countries with common law system whereas the term Private international law is used more appropriately in cases where civil law countries are involved. The term that was initially used by and American lawyer and Judge Joseph Story for a common gamut of international laws, was discarded later by the common law researchers but was adopted by civil law lawyers (Collier, 2009). Since Private international law deals with international territorial disputes and also decides on legal jurisdictions of nation states, it is generally not easy to enforce decisions. There are two different lines of legal thinking that that try to define this law. One called ‘universalism’ is a stream of thinking where the researchers believe that this branch of law is a part of international law and applies in uniformity and is legally binding to all the nation states. The other group of researchers claims it to be ‘particularism’, according to which each state has its own unique norms of private international laws and pursues them in line with its policies. There are two major areas of functioning for Private international law. ‘Sensu stricto’ or narrow sense comprises of these set of rules and guidelines that actually determine the applicability of law of a nation in relation to the dispute. ‘Sensu lato’, also called as broader sense, comprises of a set of legal guidelines that has a direct bearing on material norms crossing the borders of a state (Collier, 2009). This branch of Private international law normally deals with global issues like international insurance, realty and financial disputes. It was in 1834 that Joseph Story’s treatise on the conflict of laws introduced the contemporary field of conflicts to the system of international law. His work had a great influence on the further legal research done on English laws and thus became the heart of Private international laws for most of the commonwealth countries. Sources of International law International law has evolved over a period of time and has its roots in the Middle Eastern and European history. It was Muhammad al-shaybani who first introduced the Law of the Nations at the end of the 8th century. These were the early legal treaties that explored applications of Islamic ethical code of conduct, and Islamic economic and military jurisprudence in relation to international law. Even though these treaties were in their nascent stage as per today’s complexity of issues, they still covered a number of areas under the ambit of international law, including treaties involving diplomats and diplomatic issues, issues of war, hostages and prisoners of war, and also women, children and civilian protection issues, especially during conflicts (wiki, 2009). The first ever treaties discovered in European history were written by a philosopher, theologist and jurist, Francisco de Vitoria, a staunch Roman Catholic, in late 16th century. Most of these legal opinions by the researchers were greatly influenced by the Islamic International laws that were the only legal International law treaties that took shape in the previous few centuries. Another legal scholar Hugo Grotius in the early 17th century further researched on the international treaties governing international laws and was credited for his legal endeavors (Wiki, 2009). The concept of sovereignty further evolved from the 17th century to the early 20th century in Europe. It was in Munster, in 1648, Germany that the first such instance of any treaty governing the concept of international law called ‘Peace of Westphalia’ took shape. This is when nationalism took precedence and people started identifying themselves with a certain nation-state. It was in the United States that history saw for the first time a modern instrument of international law take shape. Lieber Code was passed in 1863 by the Congress of the United States to govern actions of US forces involved with the civil war (Wiki, 2009). This was the first ever written law detailing guidelines and rules of war that were adhered to by all the civilized nations. The sources of International law are various resource materials and the processes that have shaped it over a period of time. Most of these processes or the building blocks of rules were greatly influenced by the politics in general and the legal theories by the researchers or philosophers. The decisions taken by the judges and the writings by the jurists are considered the auxiliary sources for the development of the international law. The international treaties between nation states and organizations, and the customs are also considered international laws of equivalent legitimacy (Wiki, 2009). As per the International Court of Justice, Customs are considered a primary source for International law, along with general principles of law and various treaties. International law and Customs Customary law is already acknowledged by the International Court of Justice by a statute in Article 38(1) (b), and is also incorporated in United Nations charter by Article 92 (Villiger, 1985). Customary laws are applied by international agencies in addressing the issues related to international disputes where the application of customs is considered an equivalent to the general practice accepted a part of International law applicable to the dispute. As a thumb rule, as and when a practice becomes a custom, it is applicable to all the member states of the international community. These states are bound by these customary principles whether or not they have consented for it, unless they opposed it from the start. Customs have long been a primary source for International law. Even though codification of customary laws took place in 1899 and 1907 in the Hague and Geneva conventions, some customs that were codified, like the ‘laws of the war’, had long been the part of international customs. The new codification of customary civil laws developed over a period of time since the middle ages. The customary expressions of law that were repetitive and were widely accepted within a particular community were written into laws by the local jurists. An example of such law would be ‘custom of Paris’ that regulated the community within Parisian region (Villiger, 1985). The term ‘customary law as a part of International law, also refers to the legal norms that were developed over a period of time and with customary exchanges between two independent states either through diplomacy or with wars. Though customary laws are not considered as superior as other laws written by statute or treaties in the International law system and are loosing their influence, they still are considered and recognized as building blocks for the ever evolving international laws and given great thought in most of the scholarly works by jurists. We may find examples of strong customary laws across the globe, like the Canadian aboriginal law, that have a constitutional backing and thus have an increasing influence over deciding factors (Villager, 1985).

Biological Psychology Final Notes

Chapter 2- Darwin was the first to suggest how evolutionoccurs. Humans belong to the primate family known as hominins. Characteristics that evolved to perform one function but were co-opted to perform another function are called exaptations. Each group of three consecutive nucleotide bases along the strand of messenger RNA is called a codon, which instructs the ribosome to add amino acids to the protein being constructed. Subsequent to the nature-nuture issue, a second line of thought surrounding the biology of behavior is the dualistic physiological-psychological debate.Courtship displays are thought to be important because they premote the evolution of new species. Amphibians evolved from bony fishes and later into reptiles, the first vertebrates to lay shell-covered eggs and to be covered with dry scales. In most species mating is indiscriminate or promiscuous; however, there are some species in which males and females create mating bonds with members of the opposite sex. Genes th at contain the information necessary for the synthesis of proteins are enhancer genes. Not all DNA is found in the nucleus of the cell; some is found in mitochondria.Monoallelic expression occurs when one of the two alleles of a gene is inactivated, due to an unidentified epigenetic mechanism, and the other allele is expressed. Descartes claimed the mind is made up of the soul, body, and spirit. RNA is like DNA except it contains the base uracil instead of thymine. Epigenetic mechanisms are thought to be the mearns by which a small number of genes are able to orchestrate the development of human complexity. The mate-bonding pattern in which bonds are formed between one male and one female is known as monogamy. Evolution is not always adaptive.Incidental non-adaptive byproducts are called spandrels. Mitochondria are energy generation structures that are located in the cytoplasm of every cell. Each chromosome has double stranded molecules known as DNA and each is a sequence of nucleot ide bases. Courtship displays are thought to be important because the premote the evolution of new species. Chapter 3- CNS is made up of the brain and spinal cord. PNS is located outside the skull and spine and serves to bring info to the CNS and carry signals out of the CNS. PNS: Somatic Nervous System – Afferent nerves (sensory) Efferent nerves (motor).Autonomic Nervous System- Sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves and both nerves are efferent. Sympathetic – thoracic and lumbar, â€Å"fight or flight,† second stage neurons are far from the target organ. Parasympathetic – cranial and sacral, â€Å"rest and restore,† second stage neurons are near the target organ. All nerves are efferent. Sympathetic and parasympathetic generally have opposite effects. Two stage neural paths, neuron exiting the CNS synapses on a second stage neuron before the target organ. Protective mechanisms of the CNS – bone (brain & spinal cord), meninges (protective m embranes), cerebrospinal fluid, and blood brain barrier.CNS encased in bone and covered by three meninges: dura mater- tough outer membrane, arachnoid membrane – web like, pia mater – adheres to CNS surface. Ventricles & spinal cord – contain spinal fluid, cushion against mechanical shock, delivery of hormones, delivery of nutrients. Cerebral Vascular system – delivery of nutrients (glucose, thiamine), delivery of hormones (communication), thermoregulation (maintain temperature), blood brain barrier. Two Types of Cells in Nervous System: neurons – transmit electrical and chemical signals, different types of neurons.Glia – different types, different functions. Neurons – specialized cells for the reception, conduction and transmission of electrochemical signals AND many sizes and shapes. Neurons-messengers-release of chemical that forms communication with other neurons. Semi-permeable membranes – uncharged molecules; move freely across membrane, a few charged molecules (sodium, potassium, calcium, and chloride) move through channels, lipids (fat molecules) are key components of the membrane, protein molecules are the key components of ion channels.Glial cells (forgotten cells): glial cells – support neurons, recent evidence for glial communication and modulatory effects of glia on neuronal communication. Types of glial cells: oligodendrocytes- extensions rich in myelin create myelin sheaths in CNS. Schwann cells- ssimilar to function of oligodendrocytes but in PNS, can guide axonal regeneration. Astrocytes- largest glia, star shaped, many functions. Microglia- involved in response to injury or disease. Radial glia- form temporary network to facilitate neural migration.Phagocytic microglia in the flat-mounted inner retina of the rat following transection of the optic nerve – the neurons were axotomized and retrogradely labelled with the fluorescent dye, Due to the membranophilic property of the dye, microglial cells became transcellularly stained after phagocytosis of 4Di-10ASP-labelled neuronal debris. Inside the phagocytes, incorporated membranes are accumulated in phagosomes, which are detectable even years after the neuronal injury. Golgi stain – allows for visualization of individual neurons and general shapes.Nissl stain – selectively stains cell bodies; permits quantification of cell bodies. Electron microscopy – details of neuronal structure. Neuroanatomical Tracing Techniques: Anterograde(forward)- tracing to where axons project away from an area. Retrograde (backward)- tracing from where axons are projecting into an area. Contralateral–opposite side. Ipsilateral – same side. Gray matter – inner component, primarily cell bodies. White matter – outer area, mainly myelinated. Forebrain: Cerebral hemispheres & Cortex, Hippocampus, Basal ganglia, Thalamus, Hypothalamus.Midbrain: Tectum, Tegmentum, Superior Colliculus, Inferior colliculus, Substantia nigra. Hindbrain: Pons, Cerebellum, Medulla axons. Chapter 4: Membrane potential: difference in electrical charge (charged particles or ions) between inside and outside of cell. Resting membrane potential: Resting membrane potential is about –70 mV, Potential inside of the neuron is 70 mV less than that outside of the neuron, When difference in potential exists, the membrane is said to be polarized (carries a charge). Ions move in/out through ion-specific channels. Potassium (K+) and Chloride (Cl-) pass readily.Sodium (Na+)-little free movement across membrane. Negatively charged proteins (A-)– Synthesized within the neuron, Found primarily within the neuron, A-don’t move at all, trapped inside. Binding of neurotransmitters to receptors causes changes in the electrical charge. Depolarizations (membrane potential less negative) result in excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs). Hyperpolarizations (membrane potential more negativ e) result in inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs). Threshold of activation (-65 mV) must be reached near the axon hillock.Spatial summation : Adding or combining individual signals (PSPs) happening at different places into one overall signal. Temporal summation: Adding or combining individual signals (PSPs) happening at different times into one overall signal. Synthesis, Packaging, and Transport of Neurotransmitter Molecules- The chemical signal: Neurotransmitter molecules — Small; Synthesized in the terminal button and packaged in synaptic vesicles. Large; Assembled in the cell body, packaged in vesicles, and then transported to the axon terminal.Major Events in Neurotransmission– The arrival of an AP at the terminal opens voltage-activated Ca2+ channels, The entry of Ca2+ causes vesicles to fuse to the presynaptic membrane and be released into the synaptic cleft. Exocytosis – the process of NT release. Glutamate – Most prevalent excitatory neurotr ansmitter in the CNS. Astrocytes appear to communicate and to modulate neuronal aactivity. Chapter 15: â€Å"Addicts† are those who continue to use a drug despite its adverse effects on health and social life . Most addictive drugs target dopamine pathways and other NTs.Psychoactive drugs – drugs that influence subjective experience and behavior by acting on the nervous system: In order for a psychoactive drug to have an effect, it must get to the brain – it must pass through the blood-brain barrier, Action of most drugs terminated by enzymes in the liver – drug metabolism, Small amounts may also be excreted in urine, sweat, feces, breath, and mother’s milk. Alcohol: A depressant. Marijuana: Cannabis sativa – common hemp plant. Medicinal Uses of Marijuana: Treats nausea, Blocks seizures, Dilates bronchioles of asthmatics, Decreases severity of glaucoma.Reduces some forms of pain. †¢ Drugs influence availability of neurotransmitters. â⠂¬â€œ Agonist – if drug mimics or enhances NT– Antagonist – if drug inhibits NT aactivity. – Affinity – if drug binds to a receptor. – Efficacy – its tendency to activate the receptor. Relapse – priming doses (prefrontal cortex), drug associated cues (amygdala), and stress (hypothalamic stress circuits). Chapter 5: MRI ? High resolution images. ? Constructed from measurement of waves that hydrogen atoms emit when activated within a magnetic field. PET scan ?Provides images of brain aactivity ? Scan is an image of levels of radioaactivity in various parts of one horizontal level of the brain ? A radiolabeled substance is administered prior to the scan. Chapter 6: Light enters the eye through the pupil, whose size changes in response to changes in illumination. Sensitivity – the ability to see when light is dim. Acuity – the ability to see details. Lens – focuses light on the retina. Ciliary muscles alter the shape of the lens as needed. Accommodation – the process of adjusting the lens to bring images into focus.Myopia – nearsightedness – inability to bring distant objects into focus; eyeball too long or cornea too curved; focal point of light falls short of the retina. Hyperopia – farsightedness – inability to focus on near objects; eyeball too short or lens too flat; focal point of light falls beyond the retina. Presbyopia – oldsightedness – lens loses elasticity; unable to refract light; most people over 50. Convergence – eyes must turn slightly inward when objects are close. Binocular disparity – difference between the images on the two retinas.Light passes through ganglion and bipolar cell to visual receptors and then†¦? Photoreceptors (rods and cones)? Horizontal cells? Bipolar cells? Amacrine cells? Retinal ganglion cells? Axons of the ganglion cells leave the back of the eye as the optic nerve. Cones: Photopic (daytime) vision. High-acuity and color information in good lighting. Concentrated in the fovea. ? Rods: Scotopic (nighttime) vision. High-sensitivity, allowing for low-acuity vision in dim light, but lacks detail and color information. Found only in the periphery.Rods: High convergence increased sensitivity, decreased acuity. Cones: Low convergence ? less sensitivity, increased acuity. Fovea: high acuity area at center of retina. Optic nerve is made up of axons of ganglion cells. We continually scan the world with small and quick eye movements – saccades. Transduction – conversion of one form of energy to another. Receptive field: The area of the visual field within which it is possible for a visual stimulus to influence the firing of a given neuron. Most neurons in V1 are either ?Simple – receptive fields are rectangular with â€Å"on† and â€Å"off† regions, or all monocular ? Complex – also rectangular, larger receptive fields, respond b est to a particular stimulus anywhere in its receptive field and many are binocular. Chapter 7: Primary cortex–input mainly from thalamic relay nuclei †¢ Secondary Cortex – input mainly from primary and secondary cortex within the sensory system †¢ Association Cortex – input from more than one sensory system, usually from secondary sensory cortex. Sensation – detecting a stimulus †¢ Perception – understanding the stimulus.

National curriculum;with a focus on Primary literacy the theme i will Literature review

National curriculum;with a focus on Primary literacy the theme i will be writing on is Phonics - Literature review Example 2006). These aspects are believed to have led to the formation of different theories related to learning and education. The main aim of this academic presentation is to be able to study and discuss two main theories related to learning and education – social constructivist theory of learning and the social cognitive theory. The analysis and evaluation of the same are believed to lead to the establishment of different important outcomes that can serve as a key reflection in the planning and development of learning and education structures. This makes it necessary to throw light on the same. The Social Cognitive theory of learning had been suggested by Bandura (1986). It is based on the principle and ideology that a particular learning system is considered to be effective and efficient when the same encourages the learners or individuals who are part of the learning system to be abreast of the action of others. The theory in itself suggests that the behaviour of human beings is largely influenced by the behaviour of others. The most significant observation in this case of learning is the development of a kind of imitation of the actions and behaviour of role models in the learning system (Rafferty, 2009). Vygotsky (1962) stated that human beings are highly socially dependent individuals and the experiences and learning which forms an integral part of the human existence in the world. These are best derived when the same are achieved through various exercises and endeavours that require the effective teamwork and involvement of human beings in groups (Cobb, 2006). The same is believed to increase the participative learning of the individuals. As they are not only able to contribute effectively to the entire learning process by presentation and application of their inherent knowledge and experiences, but are also able to enhance the same aspect among others (McInerney and

Week 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Week 1 - Assignment Example The various financial markets and how these have changed over the years since 2007/2008 are thus discussed. An assessment of how the changes have taken place is also presented. The financial market has been noted to be a place where the trading of financial securities and commodities take place among people and entities at prices that reflect demand and supply (Naude and Rossouw, 2010). This means that there are two clear components of the financial market, which are commodities and securities. In my country, both commodities and securities are emphasised, which means that the country operates a market economy. With the general financial market within my country, there are two broad forms of markets, which are the capital market and money market. As noted by Bodie, Kane and Marcus (2011), the capital market is used for long term financial investment whiles the money market is used for short term financial investment. All in all, there are six main financial markets, even though there are other minor financial markets, which are not considered in mainstream discussion. The six main financial markets are stock markets, bond markets, commodity markets, money markets, insurance market, and foreign exchange market. Some of the shadow financial markets are derivatives market and future markets. Since the end of the recession in 2008, the major changes that have taken place in the financial market in my country have largely taken the form of the type of financial market that is patronised by the majority of people. On the whole, the changes can be seen among three players within the financial market, which are government, industry and individuals. On the part of government, there has been a change that looks towards to patronage of more long term finance such as bond and stock. Government has since 2008 increased its capital market investment in the areas of bond and stock so as to ensure that it is protected against future meltdowns

Performance measurement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Performance measurement - Essay Example In a broader perspective, the role of performance management system is to provide a fundamental bloc for enhancing total quality management (Besanko, Dranove, Shanley & Schaefer, 2010). Organizations that employ performance management systems are those that wish to establish the individual, departmental, and organizational performance in a bid to enhancing management to achieve organizational goals. Amongst the personal experiences with performance measurement is during the recent visit by auditors. The auditors aimed at ensuring that every employee in the organization had not only complied with the requirements of the firm but had also placed in extra efforts to ensure customer satisfaction in addition to growing shareholders’ value. The auditors found out that most employees in the organization would go an extra mile to call the clients in order to offer advisory services with respect to the organization. Being in the Accounting and Finance Department, the auditors wanted to know how the organization was complying with the Accounting Standards as provided for by the IAS and IFRS. Their advice to the department was the need to keep updating financial and accounting data in a bid to ensure that there was accountability and transparency in reporting the same concepts and

Explain search engine marketing Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Explain search engine marketing - Article Example On the other hand, Pay per Click increases the visibility of the paid components only. Today, there are various vendors of Search Engine Marketing. The use of SEM rapidly increased in 1992 following the increase in the number of websites in the internet (Andreas, 2008). Today, the largest SEM vendors include Yahoo! Search Marketing, Google and Microsoft adCenter. Search Engine Optimization involves the identification of keywords, saturation and popularity of the site. The saturation of a website is analyzed using the number of pages that can be indexed in the search engines. On the other hand, popularity of the site is the number of backlinks associated with the site. This means that the advertising website should contain the keywords that people are search for in the internet and that these words rank high on the search engine. Pay per Click, also known as paid inclusion, entails a search engine company charging a fee for inclusion of a website in their pages (Richard, 2010). The use of search engine as a form of advertising is an imperative modality of internet marketing. This is attributed to the fact that more than 80% of people rely on search engine in locating products on the internet. In addition, it is cost effective compared to the traditional form of advertising using print and broadcasting media. Search engine marketing facilitates the increase of sales as it is accessible to many users at the same time. It also overcomes the challenge of geographical boundaries as the internet is accessible globally. Although it is cost effective, it is an intricate method that necessitates the use of consultancy services from professional. This adds to the cost of advertising online. There has been a rise in the use of search engines for shopping. After a shopper has undergone the research cycle, search queries change into terms which reflect the buying mindset. Terms such as â€Å"free

Intranship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intranship - Essay Example This included developing competence in collecting, recording, categorizing and analyzing an organization’s financial information for communication to relevant stakeholders to aid informed ‘decision-making’. I completed my objective through active involvement in the organization’s accounting department where I assisted in making journal entries, transferring the information into ledger accounts, preparing financial statements, and analyzing the organization’s financial position. I also achieved my objective by being disciplined to the accounting department and allowing myself to be professionally influenced by the employees (Kumar, p. 69- 72). I developed a variety of skills for accountancy. I gained proficiency in completing books of accounts, preparing financial statements and communication skills. I also developed positive interpersonal relationship traits as facilitated by the organization ethical culture that is entrenched in internal code of ethics provisions (Kumar, p. 69- 72). The organization derived many benefits from the pursuit of my objective. It received additional workforce that relieved some of its accountants of some duties. As a result, the relieved personnel specialized in analytical review of the organization’s performance for efficiency (Kumar, p. 69- 72). My objective was to gain expertise in application of marketing techniques for a ‘high-level’ competence. This included developing competence in â€Å"product, place, price, and promotion† aspects and the ability to manage environmental factors such as â€Å"political and legal, economic, cultural, social and natural environment† (McKinlay and O’Connor, p. 29). I similarly completed my objective through active involvement in the organization marketing activities by working closely with marketing argents by attending to their needs and accompanying them in their assignments. My level of commitment to and dependence on

Andrew Jackson was called the People's President Essay

Andrew Jackson was called the People's President - Essay Example Jackson is by no means an easy person to understand and was a man of complexity and contradiction. He was considered both a true patriot and a traitor. Contradictions raged in every aspect of his life, although he was an eloquent writer, he could not spell and had poor sentence composition. While he was an excellent general, he knew little about war and while he had a strong passion for discipline, he had no hesitation when it came to disobeying his own superiors . Consequently, concise definitions of his character are difficult to obtain, with many different, often opposite personality traits being attributed to him. It is likely that this complexity in personality drove many of the political decisions he made. One personality trait however that is not ambiguous is that he was a strong and decisive man, making his own decisions rather than letting other people influence him. For example, on his death Jackson commented on having only two regrets One way in which Jackson worked strong ly for the people was through the struggle for the National Bank. Jackson worked hard to rescind the charter of the federal bank, believing that the bank allowed for too much control to be placed in the hands of the elites, created the potential for the government to be controlled offshore interests as well as serving only to make the rich richer and having little benefit for the poor. In this venture, Jackson was indeed fighting for the rights of the people. However, one cannot consider that Jackson was always the ‘People’s President’ or that if he was, then it depends on which people are being referred to. Certainly, the Native Americans suffered significantly during his terms as President. One of the first actions that Jackson made as President was the creation of the Removal Act, which was passed in 1830. This act gave the legal ability for the forcible removal of Native Americans from much of their land east of the Mississippi River, relocating them to an al ternative territory to the west. Even prior to his presidency, the idea of obtaining Native American land was a focus for Jackson. As a politician, Jackson mostly represented the economic interests of the South, and consequently had a large involvement in the process of Native American removal . This act is often considered an abuse of power, as it drove the Native Americans from the land of their heritage where they had strong spiritual ties. In addition, the move went directly against promises that had been made to the Native Americans in the past . Another important issue that occurred during the time of Jackson’s presidency was that of the Nullification Crisis. High tariffs were in place on many manufactured goods imported from Europe. This significantly raised the price of these goods, which had an overwhelming negative effect on planters in the South. Critics argued that the tariffs cost the southern farmers, while providing significant benefits to industrialists in the north. Jackson had built his early political history on supporting the southern economy and was reported to be sympathetic towards the south. Nevertheless, he chose to instead support the laws of the Union, attempting to pass a Force Bill, which would enable him to use

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 13

Essay Example Names are vital representation of one’s self and therefore, it can be correctly assumed that people would like to have names which can be a catalyst to their personal and professional success. Korwitt’s target market is primarily the segment that strongly believes in nameology. People, who are going through tough times and continuously face obstacles in their personal and professional lives, are also hugely motivated to change their names for a brighter future. Thus, Korwitt’s business is focused towards the people who are superstitious and have strong inclination to embrace non traditional concepts to improve their current situation and resolve dilemma that may be detracting them from success in life. Although Korwitt’s business is unique in its perspective, she nevertheless faces challenges from the people who are into astrology. Some of the products, especially from far-east countries like India and China, which are believed to bring good tidings, are becoming increasingly popular amongst the western population and therefore, they can also be considered as threat to Korwitt’s

The Ethical and Legal Issues Which Arise with Health Care Essay

The Ethical and Legal Issues Which Arise with Health Care - Essay Example The case of Martin is one which carries interest because of the known concerns that pertain to stroke as well as the capacity which the hospital had to respond, but didn’t. This first began when Martin was admitted to the hospital, which raises ethical concern with the responses that were required and not acted upon. It is known that when an individual suffers from stroke, certain reflexes began to be prompted, specifically to try to balance out the body in a different manner. With this, is a known change with the body that leads to pneumonia, often which leaves the body too weak for an operation. Feeding tubes and alternative feeding methods are common expectations with patients, especially if the stroke is too severe for post – stroke patients. It is noted that this is the only way to not have reflexes respond and to make the right movements for nutrition and alterations for feeding among patients. The known problem which arises is one which indicates that the hospita l should have immediately responded to the conditions in terms of feeding and nutrition, as opposed to hiring a speech therapist to try to change the condition of Martin first. Another problem which is associated with the case of Martin is based on the inability for him to talk and the dependency which was created with his condition in the hospital. This issue is furthered with the processes which were not carried through, not only in terms of the nutritious and physical state, but also in response to the other difficulties which are known to accompany those suffering from a stroke. This is inclusive of psychological responses, social difficulties, changes in cognitive ability and personality processes. Hospital personnel are required to understand the ethical concerns and the way in which this links to the

Mergers and Joint Mergers Essay Example for Free

Mergers and Joint Mergers Essay The following paragraphs will discuss week fours readings that covered vertical mergers, horizontal mergers, conglomerates, and joint ventures. Companies use mergers and joint ventures to increase profitability and efficiency. The following paper will go over the three alliances as well as a joint venture and how it differs from the mergers. Each business arrangement is used to attempt an improvement for the company, the important thing to remember is which will be most beneficial and why. A horizontal merger occurs when two competing companies in the same market joins together to become one firm or one identity. The two companies could have an influence on the competitive market if the companies have a large percentage of that market. The result of the two companies combine will be an increased advantage over their competitors. If the two groups are joining together are small businesses, they could have little to no advantage over their competitors in the market. For example, if two unknown mobile cellular companies merge to increase their services and products, the affect on the existing market could be minimal. If two well-known mobile providers such as Apple and Samsung combine in the market of mobile cellular phones and different accessories, it would give them an advantage over their competitors because of their popularity. The companies have a larger impact on the market at this time with the latest IPhone and Samsung Galaxy.  Therefore; a competitor has a large percentage in the market would decrease barriers of entry for new competitors. A vertical merger occurs when two companies that are next to each other on the supply-chain decide to become one entity and use it as a way to gain a competitive advantage within the marketplace. For instance, a manufacturer merging with a supplier of essential components or raw materials or with a distributor or retailer that sells its products. The goal of vertical mergers is to improve efficiency or reduce costs. Vertical mergers can help to secure access to critical supplies and help to reduce overall costs by eliminating the costs of finding suppliers, negotiating deals, and paying full market prices. It can improve efficiency by synchronizing production and supply between the two groups and ensuring that supplies are available when you need them. A vertical merger can help deal with competitors by making it difficult for competitors to obtain vital supplies, therefore, weakening existing competitors and increasing barriers to the entry of new competitors. Lets take a look at the technology advancement implemented for the creation of a new iPhone. Apple will merge with the suppliers and distributors for the benefit of having the production accessible for the company when manufacturing and distributing the product. In the world of business, there are times when companies can merge in order to expand their operations in other markets, and possibly lower the risk of the company by doing so. Combining activities, which in turn, will increase their efficiency, can eliminate redundancy between the two organizations. At times, this merger can involve corporations that offer entirely different services or products. These types of mergers are referred to as conglomerate mergers. A conglomerate is a corporation that is made up of a number of different, seemingly unrelated activities. In a conglomerate, one company owns a controlling stake in a number of smaller companies, which conduct business separately. Each of a conglomerates subsidiary companies runs independently of the other business divisions, but the subsidiaries management reports to senior management at the parent company. (investopedia.com). Some examples of conglomerate mergers viewed between Proctor Gamble and Gillette, Walt Disney and the American Broadcasting  Company, and ITT, Avis Rent-a-Car, Sheraton Hotels and Continental Baking. To the typical consumer, mergers like the ones listed above do not make sense, but it the world of business; there are positive benefits for all parties involved. Unlike a merger, a joint venture does not require dissolution of their original business or change the organizational structure, but rather two business entities join forces to undertake a single project or aspect of business. The only similarity between the two is that they both include two business entities joining together. A joint merger is a short-term partnership in which the persons jointly undertake a transaction for mutual profit as well as each person contributes assets and share risks. Joint ventures can also be used by companies to gain entrance into foreign markets. Microsoft entered into a joint venture with NBC to create MSNBC. The two companies ventured to bring business news to the television and online. While the two are joins as one for MSNBC, Microsoft and NBC have their companies. Microsoft has their business market in online products and technology. NBC has their television broadcasting network. The two businesses do not affect each other. The two companies maintain ownership of the entity. When two or more companies agree to combine into one entity, it will be referred to as a horizontal, vertical, or conglomerate merger. On the other hand, when two or more businesses enter into a joint venture for a specific object will not incorporate the companies as one. The companies will be able to work together for the new entity, but their overall concept of their business will remain the same. Meaning the companies can perform their business separately from the joint venture. References: Joint venture, (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/joint_venture Mergers vs. Joint Ventures: Whats the Difference? (2012). Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/office/entrepreneurs/articles/82448.aspx Kim, E. (2012), CNNMoney: Retrieved by http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/16/technology/microsoft-nbc-split/index.htm Scilly, M. (2014), Houston Chronicle: Difference between Mergers and Joint Ventures, Retrieved from:www.smallbusiness.chron.com

MHCC is just for Me Essay Example for Free

MHCC is just for Me Essay When I graduated high school, I knew that if I wanted to get ahead in life I was going to have to get into college. Not knowing exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up, made me worry about spending money on a traditional four year university. I realized that there were several cheaper options for a higher education were around my area. Starting my education at a community college seemed like the right step for me once I understood that the credits would all transfer to a university that I could choose at a later date. This was my first sensible step towards furthering my education. The problem was trying to decide which college to go to. I had to choose from Portland community college (PCC), Clackamas (CCC) or Mount Hood (MHCC). After sorting through the pros and cons, some of which were proximity to home and work, class availability and, helpful resources, it became clear which college was right for me. MHCC was my choice because it convenient for me. When choosing which community college to attend, the first thought was the distance from both work and home. I knew that I needed a place that was close enough to where I work so that I could take as many classes as I needed and not have to worry that I am going to be late for work because of traffic or some other distraction. Another reason that I need a place that was close is to save gas, as I am currently paying my own tuition and saving money is essential for a financially deprived student. It turns out Mt. Hood is only five miles away from my house, and even more convenient was that it was right down the street from where I work. With MHCC being so close to my work and home and I am only late to class because of my oversleeping. I have also been able to fit in extra classes every semester because of the time I save to squeeze it in without having to ask for any additional time off from work. I am currently working part time job at Bi-Mart so flexibility with scheduling is necessity for my schooling. My current situation for school is that I get to decide which two days I am off, and with those two days I can create my school schedule. MHCC scheduling is so convenient because that the same class that I may need could be taught by several different instructors which all have different times and different days allowing me to shape a schedule that will fit. This has really allowed me to appreciate the classes that are held twice a week for that reason. My usually schedule for school can sometimes take me all day. It starts with a morning class around eight all the way through the day until an evening course till around eight. Without the classes held only two days a week I don’t know how long it would take for me to graduate. One of the resources that I keep constantly using at Mt. Hood is the Learning Center’s tutors up on the second floor of the main campus l ibrary. I know that I am not the only student in the class room, so when I cannot get a meeting with the teacher to go over class items that I do not understand clearly I go to the tutor center. When I am up there I can receive all the help that I need for any school work that I am behind in. I know this because I go to the math tutor all the time for help just to get help that I need. I also have gone to the writing tutor in the past to help with papers that I get stuck on. I know that I am not a very strong writer and not all the rules of grammar stick with me, so knowing that there is a person that can help me makes me a more confident student and it makes me feel like I can achieve more. The convenience of the tutoring center has allowed me to be a better student. To be honest without MHCC, I don’t know if I would have the drive to go to another school. When thinking about the future it makes me cringe sometimes. If anything I have learned from working at Bi-Mart, I know that working dead end jobs as a lifestyle is not going to be in my best interest if I want to achieve something in my life. For that I consider Mount Hood to be a great school to attend. I am glad that I could find a school that could fit into my life and my future goals. At MHCC I have learned so much, and have improved both my writing and math. I know that furthering myself with an education is only going to benefit me in the time ahead and with the education at Mt. Hood I know that when I am able to transfer to that four year university I know that I will have the tools to be able to succeed not only there but beyond the university as well.

Big Data as an e-Health Service

Big Data as an e-Health Service Abstract: Bigdata in healthcare relates to electronic health records, patients reported outcomes all other data sets.It is not possible to maintain large and complex data with traditional database tools. After many innovation researches done by researchers Big Data is regenerating the health care, business data and finally society as e-Health .The study on bigdata e-health service. In this paper we come to know why the current technologies like STORM, hadoop, MapReduce can’t be applied directly to electronic-health services. It describes the added capabilities required to make the electronic-health services to become more practical. Next this paper provides report on architecture of bigdata e-health services that provides meaning of e-services, management operations and compliance. Keywords: Introduction to big data, different types of technologies of bigdata, advantages of bigdata, applications of big data, solutions of e-health services, big data as a service provider, e-health data operation management. Introduction: What is bigdata? Bigdata consisting of extremely huge amount of data sets which consists all kinds of data and it is difficult to extract. It can be described by the characteristics like variety, velocity, volume and variability. Variety It consists of data like structured, unstructured and semi structured data Structured data consists of databases, small scale health personal records, insurances, data wares, Enterprise Systems(like CRM, ERP etc) Unstructured data consists of analog data, Audio/video streams. Treatment data, research data Semi Structured data consists of XML, E-Mail, EDI. Velocity Velocity depends on time Sensitivity   It also depends on streaming Volume   It may consists of large quantities of files or small files in quantity   for example , now a days single person can have more than one Gmail account. When he wants to login into a gmail accounts the system generates log files . If a person login into gmail account multiple times through his different accounts then , the system generates huge number of log files that is stored in a servers using bigdata. Variability   It shows the inconsistency of data depends on variation of time period .It may be a problem for analyzing the data. Historically Bigdata in health care industries generate huge amount of electronic health datasets are so complex and difficult to manage by using the traditional software’s or hardware nor by using some database management tools. Now the current trend is to make these huge amount of data as Digitalization so that this whole digital healthcare system will transform the whole healthcare process will become more efficient and highly expensive cost will be reduced. In other words Bigdata in healthcare is evolving into a propitious field for providing perception from large set of data and it produces outcomes which reduces the cost. Bigdata in healthcare industry is stunning not only because of huge volume of datasets like clinical records of patients health reports, patient insurance report, pharmacy, prescriptions , medical imaging , patient data in electronic patient records etc but also multiplicity of data types and the speed of increasing the records. Some of the reports generated by researchers on the health care systems shows that, one of the health care system alone has reached in 2011, 150 Exabyte. At this rate of increase of growth, in future the bigdata reaches Zettabyte scale and soon it reaches to Yottabyte from various sources like electronic medical records Systems, social media reports, Personal health reports, mobile health care records, analytical reports on large array of biomedical sensors and smart phones. The electronic-health medical reports generated by single patient generates thousands of medical reports which includes medical reports, lab reports, insurances, digital image reports , billing details etc.All these records are needed to be stored in database for validating , integrating these records for meaningful analysis. If these reports are generated by multiple patients across the whole world of healthcare processing system then we have to combine these whole data into a single system which is a big challenge for Big Data. As the volume and Source of storing the data increases rapidly then we can utilize the e-health data to reduce the cost and improves the treatment. We can achieve it by investigating the big data e-health System that satisfies Big Data applications. BIG DATA FOUNDATIONS FOR E-HEALTH : The Following Figure 1 shows the bigdata service environment architecture that provides the support for electronic-health applications from different sources like testing center, individual patients, insurance facilitator and government agencies .All these produces some standard health records are connected commonly to a national healthcare network. Figure 1. e-Health Big Data Service Environments Different types of Data sources : The different types of data sources may include structured database, unstructured datasets and semi structured information Some of the standard structured data that deals with the drug insurance policy by NCPDP (National Council for Prescription Drug Program) and NCPDP SCRIPT for messaging the electronic prescription for validating the interaction between drug to drug, medical database records, dosage of drug, maintain the records. The semi structured data related to radiology pictures are changed over the IP networks is provided by DICOM(Digital Imaging and communication in Medicine). The e-Health system store, gather the medical information, patient information to the doctors unexpectedly includes medical information, vaccination details, diagnostics’ reports. HDWA Healthcare Data Warehousing Association it provides the environment for from others. They work collaboratively which helps them to deliver accurate results or solutions from their own organizations A strong relationship and interaction from test facilitators and technical team is maintained within the organization. We have to face the challenges for utilizing the unstructured data related to different concepts, sharing and accessing the data. Big data solutions and products: Bigdata investigation requires knowledge about storing, inspecting, discovering, visualizing the data and providing security by making some changes to some of technologies like Hadoop, MapReduce, STORM and with combinations. STROM: STROM is a distributed, open source , real time and fault-tolerant computational system. It can process the large amount of data on different machines and in real time each message will be processed. Strom programs can be developed by using any programming languages but especially it uses java , python and other. Strom is extremely fast and has the capability to process millions of records per second per node as it is required for e-health services. It combines with the message queuing and database technologies. From the figure 2 we can observe that a Strom topology takes huge amount of data and process the data in a typical manner and repartitioning the streams of data between each stage of process. A strom topology consists of spout and bolts that can process huge amount of data. In terms of strom components the spout reads the incoming data and it can also read the data from existing files .if the file is modified then spout also enters the modified data also. Bolt is responsible for all processing what happens on the topology , it can do anything from filtering to joins, aggregations, talking to database. Bolts receive the data from spout for processing. Figure 2. Illustration of STORM Architecture (ref: https://storm.apache.org/) Some of the important characteristics of Strom for data processing are: Fast-It can process one million 100 bytes per second per node Scalable-with parallel calculations that runs across the machine Fault-tolerant-if a node dies strom will automatically restart them Reliable-strom can process each unit of data alleast once or exactly once Easy to operate-once deployed strom can be operated easily (ref: http://hortonworks.com/hadoop/storm/) Hadoop for batch processing: Hadoop was initially designed for batch processing i.e., it takes inputs as a large set of data at once, process it and write the output. Through this batch processing and HDFS(hadoop distributed file system) it produce high throughput data processing.Hadoop is another framework , runs on MapReduce technology to do distributed computations on different servers. (ref diagram: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Hadoop) Figure 3. Hadoop Processing Systems From the figure 3 we can observe that a hadoop multi-node cluster , it consists of single master node and slave node. A master node has different trackers like task tracker for scheduling the tasks , job tracker server handles with the job appointments in a order. Master also acts like a data node and name node. The slave node acts like a task tracker and data node which process the data only by slave-node only. HDFS layer deals with large cluster of nodes manage the name node server which prevents the corruption of file by taking the snapshots of the name node memory structure. Many top companies uses the hadoop technology plays a prominent role in the market.The Vendors who uses Hadoop technology will produce accurate results with high performance, scalability in output and cost is reduced. Some of the companies like Amazon, IBM, Zettaset, Dell and other uses Hadoop technology for easy analysis, provides security, user friendly solutions for complex problems.( http://www.technavio.com/blog/top-14-hadoop-technology-companies) MAPREDUCE: In 2004, Google released a framework called Hadoop MapReduce. This framework is used for writing the applications which process huge amount of multi-terabyte data sets in parallel on large number of nodes. MapReduce divides the work loads into multiple tasks that can be executed parallel. Computational process can be done on both file system and database. (ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MapReduce) MapReduce code is usuallay written in java program and it can also can write in another programming languages. It consists of two fundamental components like Map and Reduce. The input and output generated by MapReduce is in the form of key and value pair. The map node will take the input in the form of large clusters and divides it into smaller clusters were the execution process is easy. Rather Mapreduce provides support for hadoop distributed file system can store the data in different servers. This framework provides support for thousands of computational applications and peg bytes of data. Some of the important features of mapreduce are scale-out architecture , security and authentication, resource manager, optimized scheduling, flexibility and high availability. Additional tools are needed to add and should be trained for e-Health files to reduce the complexity because some of the compressed files like electronic-health DICOM picture file should be mapped to a singler Map Reducer so it reduces the BigdData effectiveness. The Hadoop big data applications has imposed a limitations on big data technologies has focused on the applications like offline informatics systems. 4) Programming Tools: The other solution for the e-Health bigdata is MUMPS, it is an programming tool. MUMPS is abbreviated as Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System. It is also known as M programming language. M is a multi user and it is designed to control the huge amount of database. M programming can produce high performance in health cares and in financial applications. M provides simple data considerations in which the data is given in the form of string of characters and the given data is structured in a multidimensional array. M requires support for sparse data.Accorrding to the research done by the scientist in US hospitals they are maintaing the electronic Health records (HER) using M language including Vista(Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) which manages all hospitals care facilities run by the Department of Veterans. (ref: http://opensource.com/health/12/2/join-m-revolution) In future some of the analytical algorithms are developed to solve the problems faced with the big data applications Additional e-Health (Big Data) Capabilities: The additional capabilities provided by the Big data e-Health services are Data Federation and aggregation, Security and Regulatory Concerns and Data Operational Management. The bigdata provides the services which helps to organize and store the huge amount of data. Those data is is digitalization , consists of large amount of datasets consists information related to patients all reports. 1) Data Federation and Aggregation: Data Federation is a type of software which collections the data from the multiple users and integrates the data.Typically traditional software cannot given the solution to store the huge amount of data in hardwares or by some database management tools.But the Data federation will provide a solution based upon the bigdata architecture is based by collecting the data inside and outside of the enterprise through the layer. Some of the important data federation tools are Sysbase federation, IBM InfoSphere Federation server and so on. (ref: http://etl-tools.info/en/data-federation.html) 2) Security and Regularity Concerns: Security is one of the important requirement to describe bidgata e-health services.Security plays a important role because patient share their personl information with the doctors which help the physician to give the correct treatment 3) Data Operational Management

An Analysis of Thomas Hardys The Mayor of Casterbridge Essay -- essay

An Analysis of The Mayor of Casterbridge The plot of The Mayor of Casterbridge, by Thomas Hardy, can often be confusing and difficult to follow. The pages of this novel are filled with sex, scandal, and alcohol, but it provides for a very interesting and unique story. It all begins one day in the large Wessex village of Weydon-Priors. Michael Henchard, a young hay-trusser looking for work, enters the village with his wife and infant daughter. What follows next, is certainly a little out of the ordinary, and this book provides and interesting plot, that is sure to brighten up any boring day. Michael Henchard, looking for something to drink, enters into a tent where an old woman is selling furmity, a liquid pudding made of boiled wheat, eggs, sugar, and spices. Henchard consumes too many bowls of furmity spiked with rum. Feeling trapped by his marriage and under the influence, Henchard threatens to auction his family. The auction begins as a kind of cruel joke, but Susan Henchard in anger retaliates by leaving with a sailor who makes the highest bid. Henchard regrets his decision the next day, but he is unable to find his family. Exactly eighteen years pass. Susan and her daughter Elizabeth-Jane come back to the fair, seeking news about Henchard. The sailor has been lost at sea, and Susan is returning to her "rightful" husband. At the infamous furmity tent, they learn Henchard has moved to Casterbridge, where he has become a prosperous grain merchant and even mayor. When Henchard learns that his family has returned, he is determined to right his old wrong. He devises a plan for courting and marrying Susan again, and for adopting her daughter. A young Scotsman named Donald Farfrae enters Casterbridge on the same day as Susan and Elizabeth-Jane. Henchard takes an instant liking to the total stranger and convinces Farfrae to stay on in Casterbridge as his right-hand man. Henchard even tells Farfrae the two greatest secrets of his life: the sale of his wife and the affair he has had with a Jersey woman, Lucetta. Henchard is confused as to how to make good on his bad acts. Henchard remarries Susan, who dies soon afterward, leaving behind a letter to be opened on Elizabeth-Jane's wedding day. Henchard read... ... Henchard appears at Elizabeth-Jane and Farfrae's wedding to deliver a present. Elizabeth-Jane spurns him, and Henchard sees that Newson has taken over as father of the bride--a role Henchard can never play. He leaves Casterbridge broken-hearted. A few days later, Elizabeth-Jane discovers Henchard's present, a bird in a cage. The unattended bird has died of starvation. Touched, she and Farfrae go in search of Henchard. Too late, they learn he has just died in the hovel where he had been living with the humblest of his former employees. The young couple read Henchard's pitiful will, in which Henchard asks that no one remember him. As one can see, to often scandal can end in tragedy, as in the case of poor Michael Henchard. He lived a risky life, and paid for his mistakes in the end. The Mayor of Casterbridge proves to be an interesting novel, that provides everything modern day critics hope to keep out of the hands of children. The book proved to be at times, quite exegesis, but the plot is presented well, and the settings described beautifully. Thomas Hardy creates a masterpiece in describing the rise and fall of one Michael Henchard.

My Suicide :: personal narrative

Everyone hates me for what I am. They all think I am strange. They stare as if i were the main attraction at a freak show. I hate myself for what i am not: social, outgoing and happy. No one would miss me if I died. I cannot take the torment of living in this world anymore. I would be better off dead! I sit on bed in my candle-lit room, the black velvet curtains drawn shut. The smoke from the burning incescents swirls throughout the room the in the pale flickering light. The melancholy sounds of Nine-Inch-Nails softly echoes in the corners. Depressed, I wonder what is wrong with me? Why does everyone make fun of me? Why do I not any friends? How come no one cares about me? I need an escape from the insanity of my own mind? Death, it is most people's worst fear; however, it is the only thing that will liberate me from this hell on earth. In my hand I hold the key to my freedom, a razor blade. In awe I analyze the razor: it's sterile, machine precise metal, cutting edge. It is more beautiful than anything nature could produce. Holding it with my right index finger and thumb, I place it's razor edge upon my left wrist. It glistens in the candles' flames. I stare as the shadows of the razor dance like ghosts on my forearm. I apply pressure down on the blade until the skin depresses under the metallic edge. Slowly I apply more pressure. My skin separates beneath the razor edge and the blade sinks into my flesh. Fascinated I raise my arm to my eyes. There is no blood, despite the fact that there is a piece of metal embedded in my wrist. I lower my arm back down and again grasp the razor blade with my right hand. I slide the razor's edge along my arm, away from my wrist, and then remove the blade from out of my arm. The razor had left a clean three and a half inch surgical incision, starting a couple of centimeters back from the bottom of my palm. Throughout all of this I did not feel a thing. Finally, blood slowly beads up along the slit. Instantaneously the cut splits open into a deep crevice. Blood gushes out from the wound, pouring onto my satin bed sheets. My Suicide :: personal narrative Everyone hates me for what I am. They all think I am strange. They stare as if i were the main attraction at a freak show. I hate myself for what i am not: social, outgoing and happy. No one would miss me if I died. I cannot take the torment of living in this world anymore. I would be better off dead! I sit on bed in my candle-lit room, the black velvet curtains drawn shut. The smoke from the burning incescents swirls throughout the room the in the pale flickering light. The melancholy sounds of Nine-Inch-Nails softly echoes in the corners. Depressed, I wonder what is wrong with me? Why does everyone make fun of me? Why do I not any friends? How come no one cares about me? I need an escape from the insanity of my own mind? Death, it is most people's worst fear; however, it is the only thing that will liberate me from this hell on earth. In my hand I hold the key to my freedom, a razor blade. In awe I analyze the razor: it's sterile, machine precise metal, cutting edge. It is more beautiful than anything nature could produce. Holding it with my right index finger and thumb, I place it's razor edge upon my left wrist. It glistens in the candles' flames. I stare as the shadows of the razor dance like ghosts on my forearm. I apply pressure down on the blade until the skin depresses under the metallic edge. Slowly I apply more pressure. My skin separates beneath the razor edge and the blade sinks into my flesh. Fascinated I raise my arm to my eyes. There is no blood, despite the fact that there is a piece of metal embedded in my wrist. I lower my arm back down and again grasp the razor blade with my right hand. I slide the razor's edge along my arm, away from my wrist, and then remove the blade from out of my arm. The razor had left a clean three and a half inch surgical incision, starting a couple of centimeters back from the bottom of my palm. Throughout all of this I did not feel a thing. Finally, blood slowly beads up along the slit. Instantaneously the cut splits open into a deep crevice. Blood gushes out from the wound, pouring onto my satin bed sheets.

Fishes :: essays research papers

There are two classes of fishlike creatures in the Chordate Phylum. The first is Chondrichthyes Class, which comprises mainly of Sharks and Rays. The seconds is the common Bony fishes of the class Ostechithyes. The apparent similarities between each speech are only skin deep. They have similar dapperly solely because of convergent evolution and not because of any close evolution connection. There paired fins can identify class Chrondrichthyes, which comprises namely of sharks and rays, their completely cartilaginous skeletons and biting jaws characteristic of the group. Chrondrichthyes are mainly carnivorous, and the sharks have highly adept senses for vision, olfaction, and hearing. They even posses a system of microscopic organs which can detect changes in water pressure around the shall. Sharks do not possess gills flaps like a fish so a shark must continuously move in order to obtain enough oxygen to survey. The large teeth of a shark are evolutionarily derived from jagged skin scales. Which are apparent on shark’s ancestor’s Placodermi class. The digestion system of a shark contains a “spiral valve'; intestinal system, which increases the surface area and lengthens the time food is digested in the unusually short intestine system of a shark. Sharks sexually reproduce. Unlike a shark, rays have flattened bodies so they can hide themselves in the sa nd at the bottom of any shallow water area and wait for a meal. Rays also have a whiplike tail for defense and jaws, which it uses to crush mollusks and crustaceans. Class Osterrichhthyes has the most separate species of any vertebrate class. Unlike their oceanic cosines Bony fish have a skeleton made from calcium phosphate and a slimy skin covered by bony armorlike scales. Fish of the Osterrichhthyes class have gill flaps call an operculum. On the side of there head which have flaps that move while the fish is stationary drawing in water which the fish can convert into oxygen. An unusual characteristic of bony fish is that they can control their density and this control their buoyancy by means of a unique swim bladder. Fish system of flexible fins in another adaptation the fish have made. Unlike sharks bony fishes fertile externally and even in the Osterrichhthyes Class there is great variation in reproductive techniques. There are two distinct subclasses of fishes, Ray finned and fleshy finned, each has a common ancestor. Though divergent evolution the ray finned fish have become a separate class from the fleshy finned.

Corporate Social Network Essay

Corporate Social Network – Final Project MIS 535 Managerial Applications of Information Technology Lou Ann McElyea June 16, 2013 Abstract Many organizations have suggestion boxes. One can find a suggestion box in a gas station, a restaurant, and even a work place. It’s an easy and mostly anonymous way to express ideas or concerns regarding an organization and/or its structure. Through the use of a suggestion box, either client or employee would be able to express opinions and make suggestions according to the various attributes of an organization without a high pressure environment such as meetings and superior/employee one-on-one sessions. With access to so much information technology and data collection resources, many organizations can take their ‘suggestion box’ out of the hallway and to the employee or client through their computer screen. The easy accessibility of the electronic suggestion box would not only encourage more users, but promote on the spot ideas at the time a suggestion is originated. For example, at Chili’s the restaurant they have an interactive module where you can play games and pay your bill. After a short visit to the bathroom, you think of a game they can add to their interactive board. Wouldn’t it be nice if instead of flagging down a waitress or trying to find a manager, you could put that suggestion right on the interactive board that goes straight to the manager in a message? Organization Background Opening in 2000, the fully accredited Advanced Academics Inc. partnered with schools and districts all over the United States to provide online  learning opportunities for students who needed an additional educational option available. Offering access to certified teachers 24 hours a day, 5 days a week and 24/7 student technical support on an innovative virtual classroom platform, Advanced Academics Inc. made a point to equip students with all possible resources to assist in achieving a high school diploma. With students in the most rural corners of Oklahoma, where the organization is headquartered, were unable to get to school. Buses didn’t run that far and methods of transportation were slim. More and more students in traditional classrooms were not finding the environment to be conducive to their academic success. Students who need more time with their teacher or doing their homework or tests can fall between the cracks of customary school systems. There had to be another option, surely, there was another way. Now a subsidiary of DeVry Inc., Advanced Academics Inc., is one of the most regarded online learning institutions in the country. Offering educational opportunities not only to those of high school age but to those who are younger, older, and in need of an accredited high school diploma, Advanced Academics is a sought after institution. This online learning option truly lives by their mission to help students succeed and graduate with a high school diploma. Problem Advanced Academics Inc. has free state-based programs in 10 states not including the international tuition-based program. Each of these programs requires specific criteria to be met in order to attend, as well as different contacts for counselors and student assistants and an outsourced general information and initial enrollment customer service. According to their LinkedIn page, Advanced Academics Inc., or AAI, has upwards of 500 employees across the footprint and headquarters with approximately 80% of their corporate employees able to work remotely utilizing the popular cloud computing system Salesforce. With all these national, and mobile, employees within the organization, AAI can experience a lapse in communication amongst their program directors, admissions, and enrollment. This lack of communication has led to a multitude of issues within the organization such as programs changing criteria or dropping out of AAI, misinformation being  provided to students and employees, and website update and repair. Because company-wide face to face meeting are near impossible, AAI has a heavy reliance on a chain of command and technology in order to make any updates or changes effective in the organization and for the information to spread accordingly. They lack a system or software that is accessible to all employees of the organization to be able to perform their jobs effectively. Halverson and Tirmizi (2008) state that organizations â€Å"have to find means, as they utilize global communication tools, to adjust their ways of communicating and understanding† in order to maintain effective communication (p. 185). AAI needs to make some adjustments so that all facets of the organization can work cohesively, providing the students the flawless service they ne ed to succeed. Solution Since most of AAI has access to the same databases as well as utilize the same resources to perform their various job functions, it is a safely drawn conclusion that most employees are inept at accessing different technologies on a daily basis. I propose that all of the employees access a form of social networking technology that enables employees and team members to share ideas, suggestions, opinions, and news/updates with those in the AAI â€Å"community†. This site created specifically for this purpose, will pose as a forum divided into applicable sections and accessible to everyone to receive information and updates in real time, instead of waiting for it to be handed down the chain of command. In this idea management database topics such as software and hardware issues, updates, and suggestions can be discussed as well as any organizationally related announcements regarding meetings, open houses, closures, and changes to any program. From each post, employees and team members will be able to vote on each post, elevating its importance (i.e. the more ‘likes’ a post has, it elevates to the top/front of the forum). They will also be able to re post to any smaller sub groups created in the organization. The AAI corporate office as well as group/subgroup leaders will be able to track the usage of the website to determine that all are using it to gather information and as an agreement/acknowledgement of any important policy or procedure changes. AAI  could also provide a discussion feature regarding any new changes, such as commentary on any other social media. Any proposals or changes, lower level employees will be able to communicate with the upper level management in order to ask questions or address any concerns. This feature can provide the communication the organization would need in order to provide proficient service for students. Benefits Aside from the obvious of supplying superior service to the students and parents, this social forum or virtual suggestion/announcement page provides many benefits to the AAI staff and employees. On The Spot Ideas AAI meetings for most of the departments are unintentionally sporadic and have to be spread throughout the footprint and calendar in order to ensure proper coverage for students. By then, team and staff members have to record and remember facets of their job functions that are affected and could be changed. Because not everyone is accessible throughout the organization at all times, it can be hard to utilize AAI’s open door policy. With the forum’s implementation, staff will be able to post questions right away, as it occurs to them. It would be open for other staff members to answer and vote on, to show its importance. This would also give upper level management opportunity to read and respond to any questions straight from the source, as opposed to second hand emails and meeting topics. Lost In Translation Because of the lack of formal information, the organization can suffer from procedural changes being lost in translation. Associates are able to misconstrue and confuse information that is being passed down to them through the chain of command. This game of telephone can lead to providing misinformation to students/parents, misinformed staff members, ebb and flow of communication lines between educational institution and organization, and  overall bad employee morale. When there are several lines of communication between student/parent and AAI, they could get several different answers to one question they may ask. For example, a student requested an application for the online program in Arizona for the next school year. The student then received a letter a week later from the program in Arizona stating they were not participating in an online program for the next school year and provided information on the traditional charter school they offered. Confused, the student called their admissions advisor who was unaware Arizona’s school was not participating next year. It was then that it was revealed that Arizona’s school had backed out of AAI’s virtual program. Had there been a more open communication forum, Arizona would have been able to communicate this to all formally. Ending any confusion that the student was caused. Slow Moving Communication Train It can take days, weeks, or never for certain information to be made available to everyone throughout AAI’s organizational structure. Information would have to be relayed from the state programs, to AAI’s upper level management and further down. Because there are so many cooks in the kitchen, AAI suffers from being able to relay information organization wide on a more time efficient basis. The information may be deemed as irrelevant to certain departments, however, if they were presented with a problem, they may be unable to assist the parent or student properly. Most communication within the organization occurs via email or by phone. With conflicting schedules and time zone’s, it’s very hard to relay information efficiently when dealing with so many people. With the forum, employees will be able to check it every day, all day during their working hours. This constant and consistent flow of communication allows for information readiness and could be referr ed to, before tapping on the shoulder of fellow associates or calling around departments. Business/Technical Approach Implementing this forum would enable the organization to communicate on a highly effective level. This form of information technology will enable  upper level management to put forth different and more effective business practices, allowing for a better rate of return in the organization. With better communication, the organization could run more smoothly. Frit-enz (1997) likens a useful information technology system to that of the body’s circulatory system stating that â€Å"when valid useful information is blocked, the system goes into a form of cardiac arrest† (p. 93). An effective organization needs to absorb and use what information is being presented and decide what is needed in order to make the organization the most successful in the industry. This forum would allow upper level management to actively participate in a collaboration with all employees by sharing resources, information, and making themselves accessible when needed. It is within large corporations and organizations that colleagues and associates become so involved in their own daily job functions, they have no direct relation to what may occur within other departments or areas in the organization. Collaboration and working closer together is one basic necessity of a successful organization and one that seems to fall out of practice with other organizations. It should remain a focus and when other ideas of maintaining that communication fails, a new one should be introduced and put into practice, such as the forum. Business Process Changes Currently, there is a ‘chain of command’ associated with AAI’s communication structure. This would have to be basically removed and replaced. Reason being, AAI would have to use the forum in its entirety, and on a consistent basis, in order for it to become effective and useful. The information technology team in the organization would be in charge of handling the forums structure and functionality. Each department, as it does currently, has a leader in which all information must be relayed and filtered through. From here each department lead will be responsible for providing information on the forum for everyone. Upper level management will be able to determine, via regular virtual or in person meetings, to discuss what topic(s) are applicable to what department. As not everything within the organization is necessary for all departments, these meetings and their consistently are crucial in the development and maintenance of the forum. Other departments  will be required to view and participate in the forum on a regular basis, depending on department determines frequency. From there, each department lead can determine whether or not the participation can determine agreeance/acknowledgement of certain procedural and policy changes as well as could serve as topics for in person meetings or huddles. These changes, although fairly subtle since most communication in the organization is electronic would prove to provide a faster return and feedback on any information presented. Technology/Business Practices Used With the implementation of a social media type forum in AAI, some best business practices will need to be agreed upon and enforced. Current moral and ethics practices and processes can continue to be used. Maintaining professionalism in this seemingly informal form of communication is key. Only professional and proper language will be used and enforced in the forum. Any language and behavior to the contrary will not tolerated and disciplinary action will be enforced. Within the IT team, they will work to monitor the forum’s functionality, and maintain its ability to run efficiently. It’s reliability is allows AAI to â€Å"feel confident in its own capabilities and start assuring the rest of the business of continued service availability and performance† (Addy, 2007 p. 165). The IT team will perform routine maintenance on the forum to ensure its functionality and will be able to access and view feedback as well, adjusting the forum to create and maintain high usability throughout the organization. High Level Implementation Plan In order to properly implement the forum, it’s blue print must first be created. The IT team can create the forum and all functionalities presented, and bring it to the associates and employees who would benefit from its usage the most, being the end users. The end users would then provide the IT team feedback regarding what needs to be added or changed, based on the uses they would need the most. The agile process would make the end users a team who are more focused on the use and ease of accessibility of the forum. From  there, the IT team can take the feedback and create a forum. The end users at that time will perform tests on the system, under the monitor of the IT team, to ensure all of the functionality the end users need is present. Based on the feedback received from the testing phase, the IT team will be able to create and present the forum from there to upper level management, or provide the tweaks needed in order to make it more functional and run more tests. Once it’s put into effect, the forum will start in a probationary time frame to slowly introduce the forum into the daily lives of AAI employees. Another survey will be taken after said probationary period to determine if the forum can be of the utmost use to everyone, or if it works for certain departments only. From there, the forum will be put into play permanently, or if AAI would need to return to the drawing board. Conclusion It is with the introduction of this forum that I feel AAI would earn an immense amount of benefits for all. Everyone would be able to communicate, in real time, effectively. By building this information technology based community, AAI will be able to connect, collaborate, and share resources with all the associates and colleagues they interact with on a daily basis. Allowing for this open flow of communication, according to Cross (2010), will help everyone â€Å"network and build relationships, and then sustaining those connection and conversations in an online community in which a broader audience can participate† (p. 5). In this open door and open door community, AAI can see success grow by leaps and bounds inside and outside the organization. References Addy, R. (2007). Effective IT Service Management : To ITIL and Beyond!. Berlin: Springer. Austin, E., & Pinkleton, B. E. (2000). Strategic Public Relations Management : Planning and Managing Effective Communication Programs. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Cross, R. L. (2010). The Organizational Network Fieldbook : Best Practices, Techniques, and Exercises to Drive Organizational Innovation and Performance. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Fitz-enz, J. (1997). The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies : How Great Organizations Make the Most of Their Human Assets. New York: AMACOM. Pell, A. R. (1999). The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Managing People. New York, N.Y.: Alpha Books. Tirmizi, S., & Halverson, C. B. (2008). Effective Multicultural Teams : Theory and Practice. [Dordrecht]: Springer. Walton, D. N. (2007). Media Argumentation : Dialectic, Persuasion, and Rhetoric. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://www.linkedin.com/company/advanced-academics

Poverty Alleviation Strategy Essay

leanness anyplace is a threat to prosperity everywhere. It is a scrooge and nonpargonil of the worst curses and miseries that a military man provoke face. gibe to Homer. This , this is b embarrassed The last, the worst that man support savour. P everyplacety can be mensural each in absolute ground, for example, the f ar of those who can non afford much than two pairs of shoes, or in relative damage, for example, the number of the brusqueest x pct of house holds. In either sense it is a concept, which is defined at random .Poverty exists not only be establish incomes be execrable, barely also because the need of ertain low income households are mellowed. Poverty has many dimensions, which acknowledge frugal, semipolitical, well-disposed, milieual and military personnel dimensions. In sparing terms a county, a constituent or a household is light when the per capita income of purchasing force play of a misfortunate sylvan or household is infra a certai n minimum standard, on that point are low medical manage and health facilities, productivity is very low and there is illiteracy.In political terms a country, a regionor a congregation of people are poor when they do not have a congressman in the club or babelike on early(a) more than brawny groups or individuals in order to point their own rights and hoices. In fond terms meagreness in a country a region o a household breeds all types of socially unsufferable behaviors like drug addiction, crime, position, violence ad terrorism in a family or in a community, These factors degrade human self respect, moral and social determine of the society as a complete and as a result more and more people in the community become intolerantand rude towards each early(a) in their day to day life.In environmental dimension, indigence destroys the living environment not only of those who give way in poorness but of all another(prenominal) human beings as well as non-human iving things that cipher on the same resources and ecosystem on which those living in destitution depend and survive. People living in want cannot change their behaviors easily because of lack of resources, knolwledge slightly their own surroundings and grooming. Thus by destroying their own living environment, the poor in touchableity are destroying their own resources on which they survive in the long run.Poverty in its human dimension is the close valuable of all, because poor people live in conditions that are miserable, conditions in which rough members of their family die of hunger, affection of famine. Poverty in tis human dimension exists, when a boor is down with a curable disease and the parents have to take a finality whether to take the pincer to a situate and buy expensive medicines or grease ones palms other infixeds of daily use.It exists when parents of a child sell their child into slavery or prostitutionbecause of lack of resources to feed or palm for th at child and when political sympathies institutes fail to cheer the rights of the poor. Poverty has emerged as the most important issue for Pakistan. Poverty redressal requires economic issue accompanied by an improvement in approach shot to social service. The reason that economic branch has failed to slabber down to the poor in Pakistan is the impenetrable improvement in social indicators stinting evolution and social heavens evolution are dependent as one reinforces the other.In fact economic ingathering is necessary for poverty step-down but poverty reduction itself is necessary for sustained growing. The estimates ot poverty are not consistent in Pakistan. According to caloric based calories per person), the incidence of poverty declined sharply from 46. 5 per centum in 1969-70 to 17. 3percent in 1987-88. However , poverty attach significantly in 1990s ising from 17. 3 percent in 1987-88 to 22. 4 percent in 1992-93 and further to 31 percent in 1996-97. The recen t estimates suggest that poverty ahs further increased from 32. percent in 1998-99 to 33. 50 percent in 1999-2000. This grounds that the incidence of poverty has increased in 19990s. confusable trends have been observed in the mooring of urban and rural poverty. The main reasons for increase in poverty during 1990s can be attributed to the relatively lower enjoin of economic addition, rising unemployment, stagnant real wages, declining flow of workers remittances and ill overnance. In addition to the factors mentioned above the high world growth also puts storm on the merge social services thereby causing social distress. moving picture a broad picture of one-third world poverty is not enough. in front anyone can formulate effective policies and programmes to outrage poverty at its source, one needs some specific knowledge of poverty groupsand their economic characteristics, It is not sufficient scarcely to focus on raising growth rates of Gross National carrefour in th e expectation or believe that this case income growth will trickle down to mprove levels of living for the very poor.On the contrary many observers argue that flat attack on poverty by mover of poverty focused policies and plans can be more effective and one cannot attack poverty coachly without fine knowledge of its location, extent and characteristics. National Economic development is primaeval to success in poverty alleviation. But poverty is an endpoint of more than economic processes. It is an outcome of economic, social and political processes. To attack poverty requires treat at local , national and international levels.The following actions are equired to be taken y poor people, government, private sector and civil society organizations. Growth is essential for expanding economic opportunities for the poor. The question is how to achieve rapid, sustainable and pro-poor growth. A business environmental causative to private investment and technological asylum is n ecessary, as is political and social stabilityto gull public and private investments. The poor should be indueed in the true sense. sanction means enhancing the capacity of the poor to crook the states institutions that affects their lives by trengthening their participation in political process, and local decision-making. It also means removing the barriers political, sound and social that work against particular groups and mental synthesis the pluss of poor people to enable them to engageeffectively in markets. Enhancing security for poor people which means decrease their vulnerability to such risks as ill health, economic shocks and natural disasters and portion them cope with adverse shocks when they occur.The ultimate cause of the short distribution of personal incomes in most third world countries s the unequal and highly concentrated patterns of asset ownership (wealth). The principal reason why less than 20 percent of their population receives over 50 percent of the national income is that this 20 percent probably owns ad controls over 90 percent of the profitable and pecuniary resources, especially physical crownwork and land but also financial capital (stock and bonds) and human capital in the form of better education.It follows that perhaps more important line of policy to keep down povertyand inequality is to focus directly on reducing the concentrated control of ssets , the unequal distribution ot power, unequal assenting to education and income earning opportunities. Policies to enforce progressive rates of direct tax incomeation on income especially at the highest levels are, what are most needed in this area of redistribution activity. Unfortunately, in many development countries the rich do not show a larger part of their income and assets. advance , they often also have the power and ability to avoid paying taxes without the affright of government. Pakistan is facing twin challenges of reviving growth and reducing poverty. Thi s requires rapid conomic growth property in view the factors responsible for slow growth and rising poverty, the government has suppose a comprehensive economic revitalisation programmed aimed at reviving economic growth and social development. The government has adopted a multi-pronged approach to promote pro-poor economic growth and reduce poverty.Engendering growth by correcting macroeconomic imbalances and stabilizing the economy has been made the central pillar of the governments economic revival program. The government has adopted a sound macroeconomic framework aimed at both stabilizing the economy and exhilarating growth. It comprises five building blocks namely tax reforms, expenditure management, prudent monetary policy, extraneous adjustment and debt management. Implementing broad based validation reforms are essential ingredients of he governments poverty alleviation strategy.Without regime reforms thee enormous tasks of reviving growth and reducing poverty cannot be hollered. Sagging growth and rising poverty are in partresults of the poor surgical procedure of the government institutions in Pakistan. In fact, poverty in Pakistan is not merely an outcome of economic ills but also a result of mis-governance over the past years. The main element of reforms are devolution of power at pip roots level, civil services reforms, access to Justice and financial transparency.The care rationale of Pakistan poverty alleviation strategy is to empower the people and to create greater opportunities for increase real income by improving access to productive assets mainly housing, land an credit. entree to credit is the surest way of empowering thepoor and improving their income generating opportunities. In addition to the already existing financial intuition, thegovernment has now established the Khushhali Bank or Micro Finance Bank for the readiness of micro credit to poor communities.The make of sluggish economic growth are clearly reflected in Pak istans performance in the social sectors, Human development is essential for attracting investment and generating the capacity for forthcoming sustainable growth. pakistans progress on almost every social indictor e. g. education, health and nutrition is poor as compared with that of other developing countries. In order to address this situation, the government has prepared comprehensive human development strategies aimed at the effective workout of the available resource s hrough modify institutional mechanisms.