Hostage Crisis of 1979 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hostage Crisis of 1979 - Research Paper Example number of hostages held down to 52.2 There are several questions that are being asked on what could have been the actual cause of the attack on the US embassy in Tehran by the pro Ayatollah students. There are varied views on what could have motivated them into the act. It is generally said that the Shah Pahlavi in New York may have been the cause of the crisis. Despite the acceptance of Shah into US soil being taken to be the immediate cause of the attack, the hostage taking was actually much more than Shah’s acceptance.3 This was an avenue that the participants in the act used to show that they were breaking away from the past where the Americans had been interfering with the Iran’s internal affairs by supporting Shah. Moreover, they used it to raise the profile of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The hostages were finally set free after 444 days on 21st January 1981.This coincided with the inaugural address of President Ronald Reagan. The immediate cause of this crisis was the decision by the Carter administration to accept Shah into the US.4 It was purported that Shah had travelled to the US to seek medical attention. This was a few months after government had been toppled by the Muslim Students Followers of Imam’s Line and other revolutionary groups in Iran that were opposed to Shah Pahlavi’s rule. The students were angered by the fact that Shah was accepted into the US despite the fact that he had committed atrocities against the Iranians. As a way of showing their disappointment, they decided to raid the US embassy. The group considered the USA to be the country that was responsible for the crimes that were committed by Shah and the decision by the Carter administration to accept Shah into the US was an act of disrespect to the Iranians.5 Shah Pahlavi and his administration have been blamed for the hostage crisis that took place on 1979.6 This is because he allowed the US to dictate how things were run in Iran especially when it came to matters

Thinking Critically Simulation Review Essay Example for Free

Thinking Critically Simulation Review Essay Through the thinking critically simulation, I was able to exercise my own problem solving techniques. In the simulation, real-life business scenarios were given as examples to be resolved. It was divided into three parts: (1) Framing the problem, (2) Making the decisions, and (3) Evaluation the decision. Each phase has its own sublevels which specifically advise the decision makers on what tasks to do in order to effectively address the problem. In the first phase, I was given several possible problems and I was asked to rank them based on urgency and criticality. The detailed background information about the company helped me in analyzing the situation. However, in the end I resorted to my own techniques in coming up with the best way to rank the problems. It was easier for me to select the problem that when solve can immediately help increase the sales of the electronics store. It was just a manner of choosing the problem that would caused a major impact on the store if it is not straight away confronted. Based on the results, my efforts received a B+ grade which meant that I fairly did well in that activity. Â  Meanwhile, for the second phase, I was asked to match the best solutions for the immediate concerns of the company. It was mentioned that formulating solutions includes identifying the problem, planning alternatives and evaluating the alternatives. I followed these steps but unfortunately I was not able to get a good assessment based on the solutions that I have selected for the given problems. Probably, it would have helped if I paid more attention to details and weighed the consequences of each probable solution. I think the practicality and convenience of the solutions should also be considered in order to optimize the resources of the company without the risk of decreasing sales or losing employees. More so, I have realized that in most problems, single or the so-called best solutions are hard to find. It is easier to draft several solutions and try to implement all of them which could help in addressing all the aspects of the identified problems. In the third phase of the simulation, I was asked to evaluate the given solutions through metrics which will measure the efficiency of each resolution. It is very important that before a decision is made; all sides of the situation or the problem should have been carefully analyzed. In the end, the decision maker should always keep in mind that in making decisions, every detail no matter how small should be considered. Also, there are obvious problems and solutions that may seem as the only appropriate options for a particular situation. But a decision maker must be critical with this so as not to waste time and effort on fallacies that poses only as problems and solutions but in reality, these are just the actual scenarios.

Australian Economy - Foreign Debt :: essays research papers

Throughout its history Australia has had to rely on foreign savings to finance its development as did America until the World War I. This savings inflow showed up as a current account deficit that averaged 2.5 per cent of GDP. The 1980s monetary explosion under Keating saw this average leap to about 4.5 per cent. The soothing argument was that this sudden rise only meant that more foreign savings are being invested in Australia. That most of the foreign debt was incurred by the private sector was waved about as proof of this proposition. The debt, we were told, was being used to generate future income. If only it had been that simple. The painful truth is that a good part, if not most, of that capital inflow was wasted and the previous labour government was to blame. Foreign debt now stands at about 51 per cent of GDP. It is claimed by some that Australia has been forced to finance this debt by selling off the farm, and this is largely the fault of the private sector borrowing. This is economic nonsense. The 1980s saw the money supply spin out of control; at one point monetary growth was averaging 25 per cent a year. (In 2001 the present government allowed M1 to explode by 22 per cent and deposits by 25 per cent). As any classical economist — a much maligned breed — would have warned, the results were rising interest rates and rising current account deficits. True, the monetary expansion stimulated the economy — it also gave us an unsustainable boom followed by the inevitable bust. With monetary demand rising, interest rates at historically high levels and inadequate domestic savings the private sector was forced to borrow abroad. Much of the borrowings by business went into mal-investments: investments that would turnout to be unprofitable. This happened because the monetary expansion (inflation) misdirected production and hence investment by sending distorted price signals to investors. The situation was aggravated by a speculative fever fuelled by the boom and by any elements of the tax structure that favoured debt. Only accelerating inflation could maintain these mal-investments. Eventually, as we know, the government finally punctured its monetary boom with 20 per cent plus interest rates. The mal-investments revealed themselves as idle resources and humiliated entrepreneurs. What we could not liquidate was our foreign debt. The debt was bad because of the circumstances that created it.

conifers :: essays research papers

While I was in Woodland Cemetery, some organisms that I noticed there were conifer trees. Such as the White Pine (Strobus pinus), Junipers (Juniperus), Doughlasfir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia), Hemlocks (Tsuga), Norway Spruce (Picea), White Cedar (Thuja), and Birch trees (Betula) The white Pine tree can be detected by looking at its pine needles. Its needles only come in a bundle of five. Pine needles are consumed by some species of grouse and by several browsers. The white pine tree is also valuable as cover for wildlife. Young trees with foliage spreading near the ground make good all-year cover for game birds, squirrel, deer, and other ground animals. White pines are usually found around well-drained sandy soils, sometimes in pure sand. Juniper grows in pastures, fenced rows, and other open places. Hoofed browsers often eat their twigs and foliage, but the main attraction to wildlife is the bluish-black berry like fruit it produces. The cedar waxwing is one of the principal users of juniper berries, but other animals make these fruit apart of their diet. Junipers also provide important protective and nesting cover for birds and field mice. Doughlasfirs are commonly found on moist, well-drained mountain slopes and in valleys through out the Rockies and in the Pacific Northwest. The ones found here can often exceed 200 feet in height. Western squirrels and other rodents use the small, winged seeds of this conifer. The foliage and twigs are important to several kinds of browsers. Doughlasfir needles, which are tightly compressed with some of the staminate cones, constitute a top rank winter food for blue grouse. Hemlocks are tall straight-trunk conifers and are usually found around moist, cool slopes, mainly in the northern latitudes or on higher mountains. The dense, low foliage of young plants makes excellent winter coverage for ruffed grouse, wild turkey, deer, and other wildlife. The small, winged seeds are important food for the pine siskin, crossbills, chickadees, blue grouse and several other rodents including the red squirrel. Norway Spruce is v-shaped in size and grows on high mountains where the climate is cool and considerable rain falls. Rabbits and deer browse the foliage and twigs in the winter. The small, winged seeds of spruce are valuable food of the white winged crossbill and are eaten by several other kinds of birds, as well as by squirrels and chipmunks.

Importance Of The Internet Essay

The Internet is very helpful for businesses all over the world. It helps speed up many processes in a cost-effective way. Yet the usefulness of the Internet depends on what types of services and products each business. And how they take advantage of what is available. Many businesses may benefit a great deal more than others may. And there are many different benefits depending upon the types of the business, whether it is a supplier, a distributor, or a retailer. Some of the benefits could be; creating a new client base, product analysis, market analysis, expert advice and help, recruiting new employees, fast information access, wide scale information dissemination, fast communications, cost-effective document transfer, peer communications, and new business opportunities. Finding new clients is not as easy as most may think. This process involves an in depth market analysis, product marketing and consumer base testing. Where if a business where to use the Internet it would be much easier because the Internet has several million people from all over the world looking for businesses to invest or subscribe to. It is very easily recruit new clients or customers if your presence on the Internet is known. If your business was on the Internet you will be able to do product analyses and comparisons and report your findings on the net. You may also be able to find at least one other person who will be familiar with a product that you Thompson, 2 are testing or about to purchase or invest in. You can get first hand reports on each product before you purchase it. The Internet has many surveys for an analysis of the market for a new product or idea. These surveys are easy to reach many people so you are able to determine the satisfaction of the users of each product. This will enable you to be able to satisfy your customers easily because most of these are anonymous you will be able to get accurate information to help you understand what is preferred by your customers. The Internet has many experts on it who make it very easy for you to find them. You may even be able to get free advice and help with problems you might have come across from the same people who are paid very highly for  their consulting services to large organizations. There are many web sites that have job listings online for employers. Qualified employees always post new resumes to the site. This may inform the employers of the skills hopeful employees will have to offer. So the employee will not have much trouble looking for prospective employers. Getting information over the Internet is much faster on most occasions than doing it via fax or postal courier services. Countries around the world are available to interact with. You can lessen the possibility of the receiver not getting the information needed. You can place documents on the Internet and make them instantly accessible to millions of users. This provides an effective method to present information to the public. This also will improve the availability Thompson, 3 of the documents to a client base larger than the circulation of many major newspapers. Electronic mail, also known as email has provided to be an effective solution to the problem of telephone tag. This still has the speed of telephone conversations and still provides the semi-permanence of postal mail. This can be sent from just about anywhere where there is an Internet service. This takes a very short period of time and saves a lot of money over postal or courier services, which can also suffer late deliveries, loss or damage. So as you can see the Internet is very valuable to many businesses all around the world. It allows things to be processed faster and for the most part much safer. I think that it would be in the best interest of most businesses to participate actively in the Internet.

or Off

Management –Outsourcing and/or Off Introduction In the recent years, various organizations have adopted outsourcing and/or off shoring as part of their long-term strategic management practices in their supply chain management. Tambe and Hitt (2010) define outsourcing as the process of contracting work to a third party. On the other hand, off shoring entails seeking provision of services from a foreign country.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Management –Outsourcing and/or Off-shoring specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More With the drastic revolution in technology advancement in the 21st Century, the IT industry has become one of the sectors in which outsourcing is prevalent (Michela Carlotta 2011). Firms in the IT industry are increasingly turning to outsourcing of function and processes by establishing a network of contracts with renowned outsourcers. As a result, the outsourcers exclusively adopt the role of supplying the necessary services or pro ducts. Some of the reasons that have motivated firms to adopt outsourcing include an increase in the intensity of competition and the emergence of a dynamic business environment. Furthermore, the need to deliver a high level of customers’ satisfaction coupled with the need to attain a high level of profitability has also enhanced incorporation of outsourcing amongst organizations. Considering the fact that organizations have to operate under these organizations, the need for a high level of adaptability, flexibility, and capability has increased significantly (Wee, Peng Wee 2010, p. 2081). The concept of outsourcing and off shoring has been in existence in firms’ supply chain-management practices for a number of decades now (Gupta, Seshasai, Mukherji, Ganguly 2006). However, its relevance in the IT industry has increased significantly over the recent past probably at the start of the 21st Century. Firms can accrue a number of benefits through incorporation of outsour cing and or off shoring. Some of the major benefits relate to cost reduction, improved operational flexibility, accessing new technology, and capacity to offer high quality products and services. However, a number of risks factors are associated with outsourcing and off-shoring (Herath Kishore 2007).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This aspect accentuates the importance of firms conducting cost-benefit analysis prior to incorporating outsourcing and or off shoring in their supply chain management practices. The cost-benefit analysis will aid in determining whether the benefits are more than the costs and hence its feasibility. This paper intends to analyze whether the advantages of outsourcing outweigh the disadvantages. Analysis Advantages of off shoring and or outsourcing Creating and protecting firms’ competitive advantage According to Tho (2012), outsou rcing enables organizations to transfer non-core activities to the provider of the services. The supplier of the services in turn assumes the responsibility of delivering the non-core service, which provides an opportunity for the firm to focus on developing its core competencies. Through outsourcing, firms are in a position to nurture areas that are vital for their success. Ultimately, the firm can create and protect its competitive advantage effectively. Through effective implementation of outsourcing, a firm can implement effective human resource development, which emanates from the fact that the firm can acquire new ideas on how to develop its human capital. There are numerous benefits associated with nurturing core competencies. Some of these benefits relate to providing the firm an opportunity to improve its market share. Additionally, the perceived customer benefits with regard to the final product improve significantly. This aspect makes it difficult for competitors to imita te the firm’s product or service. Development of core competency also contributes towards the attainment of advantages associated with economies of scale. One of the main sources of competitive advantage with regard to economies of scale relates to specialization. Through outsourcing, organizations can accrue the benefits associated with the specialized skills of the outsourced vendor.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Management –Outsourcing and/or Off-shoring specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Schniederjans, Scherniederjans, and Schniederjans (2005), outsourcing and outsourcing enables organizations to attain their profit maximization objective. This aspect emanates from the fact that the firm can outsource some of its business activities from low cost providers and ultimately the firm is in a position to cater for the cost of operation. Due to profit maximization, firms are in a position to streamline their cash flows. Profit maximization is one of the major factors that can contribute towards development of competitive advantage amongst firms for a firm is in a position to cater for its cost of its operation. Freeing up company resources Outsourcing provides organizations with an opportunity to concentrate on aspects that contribute to a high level of competitive advantage. This element increases the effectiveness and efficiency with which an organization allocates its resources. For example, through outsourcing firms save on the cost of investing in certain technologies necessary for the firm’s operations. Information Technology is one of the main areas that firms are increasingly outsourcing. Focusing in such an area safeguards the firm against the cost of implementing costly IT technologies. Tadelis (2007) asserts that outsourcing enables organizations’ to free some of its resources. By outsourcing and or off shoring some of the activities, organizat ions are left with some resources such assets that can be converted into real cash. The freed resources can be used to undertake other tasks and activities. For example, the firm can invest the money saved through outsourcing in other more lucrative avenues. The ultimate effect is an improvement in the firm’s profit maximization objective. One of the cost elements that organizations can eliminate relates to cost of labour.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to Schniederjans, Scherniederjans, and Schniederjans (2005), human resources constitute the largest proportion of firms’ cost of operation. Through outsourcing and or off shoring, an organization can eliminate a significant proportion of labour cost. Before implementing the outsourcing decision, it is imperative for organizations to ensure that they undertake a comparative analysis between outsourcing and undertaking the task itself. The comparative analysis should aid in determining the cost differences. Additionally, outsourcing enables firms to eliminate other operational costs associated with in of such information may relate to product designs and formulas, which presents a confidentiality risk to such an organization. According to Weerakkody and Irani (2010), loss of confidential information may adversely affect the firm’s competitiveness. Prior to implementing the outsourcing decision, it is paramount for the firm being contracted to review the contrac t to determine whether its data is adequately protected. Additionally, the contracting party should also ensure that a penalty clause is incorporated in the event of such an incident occurring. The high rate of technological innovation especially with regard to Information Communication Technology (ICT) presents a major challenge to most organization. Security is one of the major issues being associated with outsourcing and off shoring. To prevent loss of confidential data and information, it is also necessary for the contracting firm to ensure that its computer security system is configured effectively. This element will safeguard the firm against cases of infiltrated by the outsourced firm. The contracting firm should also restrict access of its computer system. Additionally, a background check on the outsourced firm should also be conducted to determine the credibility of the outsourcing firm. Perception of outsourcing and off shoring Outsourcing and off shoring may adversely aff ect employees and customers. One of the issues that are likely to be greatly impacted relates to loyalty. Announcement of outsourcing some functions may result in generation of negative perception regarding the employer by the employees, which may culminate in the employees losing focus hence decline the employees’ productivity. According to Elmuti, Grunewald, and Abebe (2007), outsourcing may culminate in organization downsizing some of its operations. This move may lead to some employees losing their jobs, which may adversely affect the employees’ level of loyalty to the organization due to increased job insecurity. According to Rawdan (2008), â€Å"production and other performance metrics fall in the wake of the announcement† (p.16). Elmuti, Grunewald, and Abebe (2007) further assert that increased outsourcing culminates in employees developing a perception that they are insignificant. Findings of previous studies conducted reveal that the rate of employee tu rnover is high amongst unsatisfied employees compared to satisfied employees upon implementation of outsourcing (Elmuti, Grunewald Abebe 2007). On the other hand, customers may react negatively. Some customers may have adverse perception regarding some activities being outsourced from some locations. For example, customers in the United States have developed a negative perception regarding the local firms outsourcing services from certain foreign locations. On the other hand, customers may not be willing to pay high prices for products and services in order to enable firms to attain a high level of profitability through off shoring. Conclusion The above analysis has illustrated that outsourcing is one of the aspects that organization are increasingly focusing in their strategic supply chain management practices. The IT industry is one of the economic sectors within which outsourcing is increasingly being undertaken. One of the factors that have led to an increment in the relevance of outsourcing amongst organizations relate to the changing nature of the business environment. Additionally, the increment in the intensity of competition within the business environment has also stimulated the growth of outsourcing. The evaluation conducted reveals that there are a number of advantages and disadvantages associated with outsourcing. One of the major advantages is associated with development in firms’ ability to create and protect their competitive advantage. Outsourcing enables firms to create their competitive advantage by focusing on their core competencies. By transferring some of the business activities and responsibilities to the outsourced vendor, the firm can focus and nurture its core competencies. Additionally, firms also derive competitive advantage from outsourcing by developing economies of scale. For example, the firm is in a position to reduce the cost of operation. Outsourcing provides firms with an opportunity to free up some of its resources . The freed up resources can be utilized in other avenues. For example, the firms may decide to invest such an amount in other economic avenues hence increasing the chances of achieving their profit maximization goal. Additionally, outsourcing provides firms with an opportunity to nurture their level of operational expertise. This aspect emanates from the fact that the two parties can share their expertise, which culminates in development of the firm’s competitive advantage. Risk sharing is also another major advantages associated with outsourcing. The risk sharing characteristic emanates from the fact that the outsourcing firm transfers a proportion of its business activities to the outsource dealer. Despite the aforementioned merits, there are a number of demerits associated with outsourcing. Loss of managerial control is one of the major disadvantages associated with outsourcing. The outsourcing firm may not have the capacity to control the activities of the outsourced ven dor, which means that the firm might not attain the desired results. Outsourcing may result in the quality of the product being compromised. This aspect might occur due to poor contract enforcement, which limits quality guarantee. Outsourcing also culminates in decline in the level of innovativeness and skills development amongst the employees, which arises from the fact that the employees are not challenged to undertake some of the business activities that might stimulate innovativeness and skills development. Exposure to security threats and loss of confidentiality also constitutes another disadvantage of outsourcing. This arises from the fact that the firm might be required to disclose and share some information that might compromise its competitive advantage. Increased reliance on outsourcing may lead to a decline in the level of customer and employee loyalty. Employee loyalty may be affected adversely due to increased job insecurity. On the other hand, some customers might hold negative reservations with regard to outsourcing or off shoring from certain locations. In spite of this aspect, the advantages of outsourcing outweigh the disadvantages for the advantages of outsourcing contribute towards the long-term survival of firms. On the other hand, the involved parties can address the disadvantages of outsourcing adequately through the incorporation of appropriate strategies. Reference List Bradshaw, P Hayday, B 2007, ‘Non-profit governance models: problems and prospects’, The Innovation Journal, vol.12 no.3, pp. 1-22. Dhar, S Balakrishnan, B 2006, ‘Risks, benefits, and challenges in global IT outsourcing; perspectives and practices’, Journal of Global Information Management, vol.14 no.3, pp. 1-32. Elmuti, D, Grunewald, J Abebe, D 2007, ‘Consequences of outsourcing strategies on employee quality of work life, attitudes and performance’, Journal of Business Strategies, vol.3 no.3, pp. 1-28. Gupta, A, Seshasai, S, Mu kherji, S Ganguly, A 2006, Off shoring: The transition from economic drivers towards strategic global partnership and 24 hour knowledge factory, Pace University, Bangalore. Herath, T Kishore, R 2007, ‘Offshore outsourcing: risks, challenges and potential solutions’, Journal of Information Systems Management, vol.26 no.4, pp. 312-326. Isaca, J 2006, The risk of IT practitioner guide, Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Lu, Y, Ng, T Tao, Z 2012, ‘Outsourcing, product quality and contract enforcement’, Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, vol.21 no.1, pp. 1-30. Michela, P Carlotta, M 2011, ‘Outsourcing strategies: How to formalize and negotiate the outsourcing contract’, Annals of the University of Oradea, Economic Science Series, vol.20 no.1, pp. 274-77. Rawdan, M 2008, An empirical investigation of the link between transaction cost and governance structures of off shoring, ProQuest, New York. Sako, M 2005, Outsourcing and off shoring: Key tr ends and issues, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Schniederjans, M, Schniederjans, A Schniederjans, D 2005, Outsourcing and in sourcing in an international context, M.E Sharpe, Armonk. Tadelis, S 2007, ‘The innovative organization; creating value through outsourcing’, California Management Review, vol.50 no.1, pp. 261-279. Tambe, P Hitt, L 2010, ‘How off shoring affects IT workers’, Communication of The ACM, vol. 53 no.10, pp. 62-72. Tho, I 2012, Managing the risks of IT outsourcing, Routledge, New Jersey. Wee, H, Peng, S Wee, P 2010, ‘Modelling of outsourcing decisions in global supply chains: An empirical study on supplier management performance with different outsourcing strategies, ‘International Journal of Production Research, vol.48 no.7, pp. 2081-2094. Weerakkody, V Irani, Z 2010, ‘A value and risk analysis of offshore outsourcing business models; an exploratory study’, International Journal of Production Research, vol. 4 8 no.2, pp. 613-634.

Bambiraptor - Facts and Figures

Bambiraptor - Facts and Figures Name: Bambiraptor (Greek for Bambi thief, after the Disney cartoon character); pronounced BAM-bee-rap-tore Habitat: Plains of western North America Historical Period: Late Cretaceous (75 million years ago) Size and Weight: About four feet long and 10 pounds Diet: Meat Distinguishing Characteristics: Small size; bipedal posture; feathers; relatively large brain; single, curved claws on hind feet About Bambiraptor Seasoned paleontologists spend their entire careers trying to discover the fossils of new dinosaursso they must have been envious when a 14-year-old boy stumbled upon the near-complete skeleton of Bambiraptor in 1995, in Montanas Glacier National Park. Named after the famous Disney cartoon character, this tiny, bipedal, birdlike raptor may have been covered with feathers, and its brain was almost as big as that of modern birds (which may not seem like much of a compliment, but still made it smarter than most other dinosaurs of the late Cretaceous period). Unlike the cinematic Bambi, the gentle, sloe-eyed friend of Thumper and Flower, Bambiraptor was a vicious carnivore, which may well have hunted in packs to bring down bigger prey and was equipped with single, slashing, curved claws on each of its hind feet. Which isnt to say that Bambiraptor was at the top of its late Cretaceous food chain; measuring only four feet from head to tail and weighing in the vicinity of five pounds, this dinosaur would have made a quick meal for any hungry tyrannosaurs (or larger raptors) in its immediate vicinity, a scenario that youre unlikely to see in any forthcoming Bambi sequels. The most important thing about Bambiraptor, though, is how complete its skeleton isit has been called the Rosetta Stone of raptors by paleontologists, who have studied it intently over the last two decaes in an attempt to puzzle out the evolutionary relationship of ancient dinosaurs and modern birds. No less an authority than John Ostromthe paleontologist who, inspired by Deinonychus, first proposed that birds evolved from dinosaursraved about Bambiraptor shortly after its discovery, calling it a jewel that would confirm his once-controversial theory.

metabolism essays

metabolism essays Carbohydrates are a good source of fuel while lipids are a good storage fuels. Skeletal muscles and the liver store significant amount of carbohydrates. Triacylglycerols are stored in adipose tissues. At the starting of race, the body is resting. Glucose is then taken into the body, storing in the skeletal muscles and in liver as glycogen. Digested lipids from the small intestine are absorbed across the intestinal walls and converted into triacylglycerols. Triacylglycerols are incorporated with cholesterol and apolipoproteins, into chylomicrons. Triacylglycerols are hydrolysed into glycerol and fatty acids here and are taken by adipose tissues and liver. After the race has started for five minutes, eighty-five percent of the energy is supplies by carbohydrates. This is because they are soluble due to their OH group and can travel quickly and directly in the blood to wherever the body needs them; on the other hand, lipids cannot. For lipids to be mobilized, they need to be carried in the blood bound to proteins that counteract their insolubility and these processes are time-consuming. The fuel comes from glycogen in the muscles and liver. Glycogen in the skeletal muscles is converted to glucose-1-phosphate by the enzyme glycogen phosphorylase while in the liver, glucagon is released to signal low sugar levels and liver releases glucose by gluconeogenesis. Glucose goes through a ten reaction pathway in which glucose is degraded to pyruvate. This process known as glycolysis. The first five reactions are known as the preparatory phase and consume two ATPs. The next five phases are called the payoff phases where four ATPs and 1 NADH is produced. At this stage of the race, muscles rely mainly on the anaerobic pathways. Therefore, pyruvate is converted to lactate and carbon dioxide. The net gain of ATP for this fermentation is two. After the race has begun for forty-five minutes, most carbohydrate sources would have depleted. L ...

Analyse a text connected with your degree subject (which is Film and Essay

Analyse a text connected with your degree subject (which is Film and TV Studies) by applying the ideas of Marx and Althusser - Essay Example what Marx has said about History in his book The holy family, or Critique of critical criticism (1844), Generic thinks it should be understood that â€Å"cinema doesnt make itself, cinema isnt made for itself, cinema is made by and for us. Films relation to the mass becomes a question of how to understand its situation as a medium capable of reaching many millions of people, potentially disparate in place and time.† (Generic. 2006). In today’s world, cinema is still one of the most influential medium to reach a large mass of people across the world. All the social, political, cultural and ideological issues which have, or could have created raves in the history of human beings are dealt from a common or unusual perspective in cinema. A section of people use this medium to express their ideas and beliefs on a particular topic which sometimes collide with the established school of thoughts, and sometimes greatly accepted. The underlying discussion on the above-mentioned b ook focuses specifically on the aspect of feminism in line with the perceptions of Karl Marx and Louis Althusser. Marx’s ideology of history being the struggle between classes is also applicable in the history of feminism. Women as a dominated class have struggled for identity and existence against the male class. They have fought for their freedom from patriarchal control, for their rights and privileges as independent human beings. Women have evolved through slavery to primitive communism- a term supposed to have introduced by Marx to indicate rights of an individual to basic resources and freedom from authoritarian rule and hierarchical social structure. The Marxist theory of feminism focuses on shattering of capitalism in order to emancipate women. The capitalist society, which largely values personal assets to demarcate the social position of an individual, is at the base of women’s oppression, according to Marxist feminism. Marx and Engel analyses that if the capitalist society, which

Animal Welfare and Advice Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Animal Welfare and Advice - Research Paper Example Moreover, the Animal Welfare Act (1996) states that to purchase an animal, one must be over sixteen years old. Animal health officers, the police and Local councils have the authority of enforcing this Act. The law may ban anyone who is cruel to an animal or does not cater to its welfare needs from owning animals. He or she could also face a fine of up to twenty thousand dollars and/or sent to jail for up to 6 months (Directgov.uk, Para 1-3). As Freeman points out in the Animal Sheltering magazine article titled ‘Help Comes for Neglected Pets, One Step at a Time’, it is not hard for one to detect outright cruelty on animals including a dog set on fire, puppies bagged and thrown in the river or a cat shot with arrows. However, there are other less obvious forms of neglect such as tying up a dog all day on a three-foot chain with no food and water among others, a type of neglect that often stems from ignorance. All forms of neglect deny the animals of their rights and one should not ignore them. Anyone can take steps against animal neglect and cruelty. Perino maintains that when one finds an abandoned, he or she becomes responsible for the safety and welfare of that animal – providing shelter, food and clean water immediately. One should view the animal more closely for possible injuries and in case it has injuries, he should take it to a veterinarian immediately or to the pet to the Animal Emergency Cli nic. PETA.org documents that if one spot an abused or neglected animal, he/she should first, find out the agency that investigates and enforces the anti-cruelty laws in his/her town, county or state. This may be either a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to  Animals or a taxpayer-funded animal control/shelter or local humane society.

RCT Appraisal Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

RCT Appraisal - Article Example The study explores the various support services that are offered within the hospital to parents who have lost their child during or after birth. The hospital staffs play a vital role in helping the parents especially the mother to fully understand the cause and significance of the death of their child which would greatly help them to come to terms with the loss. The study analyses the current services that are being offered and also provides recommendations to improve the quality of support provided to mother who have lost their children due to stillbirth or neonatal death. This is an exploratory research as there is no evidence of prior research conducted on the experiences of bereaved mothers at Gauteng. The interviews were conducted by the one of the study authors and the respondent details, requirement of support, services that is being provided at the hospital including formal services such as counseling and suggestions for improving the present services were collected. No conflict of interest has been identified. The purpose of the study was to analyze the support services that are being offered to mothers who have lost their child due to stillbirth or neonatal death by hospital staff and to determine whether these services are sufficient. To include any recommendations provided by the mothers included in the study and other suggestions to improve the quality of hospital services in such cases. The study design included both quantitative and qualitative approaches with the quantitative approach more dominant than the later. A one-shot case study was employed by which a single group of mother who had the same experience were selected and research was conducted through as series of semi-structured personal interviews on the nature of the support services that are provided with the hospital and their suggestions to improve the present services were also incorporated. As the interviews were structured the quantitative data

Memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Memo - Essay Example As opposed to storing information to the hard drive of a personal computer, or some other localised device, it is stored in a remote database, with the internet acting as the link/ connection between the said database and the computer/ device. Cloud storage has in the recent part become an essential part of contemporary modern lifestyles. Services such as iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox all scramble for the opportunity to hold important data for their clients on their servers, and this leaves companies with the task of deciding on the product that best suits their current needs. More individuals, groups and organizations increasingly own computing devices in the form of smart-phones, tablets and laptops and the thought of storing data in a traditional desktop PC often seems antiquated. Cloud storage takes charge of this by ensuring that any necessary information in the form of data or files is accessible when needed, and from whichever location. Individuals and organizations may sign up to an array of services that offer to automatically upload photos from smart-phone onto the cloud, sync documents across a number of devices, when also enabling them to work collaboratively on the web. Sharing of large files with colleagues and friends is made easier with cloud bouncing back of files due to inadequate storage space or limitations imposed by email servers is eliminated. In essence, cloud storage only requires a person to share links to files that are stored within the particular cloud service with colleagues or friends, and when they follow the links, they ga in immediate access. The introduction of cloud servers and storage has made it simpler for individuals and organizations to back up important information. It is due to the fact it increases the flexibility of accessing them from any corner of the world. While at the same time there exists the

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

Judaism - Essay Example This paper will examine Judaism and argue that it may be largely defined as a communal behaviour that is rooted in knowledge of the reality. To begin with, one should note that just like Islam Judaism also has a legal dimension to it. In other worlds, there is a legal system that is based on the sacred text of Judaism, namely Torah (Solomon 1996, 56). Indeed, this means that the latter should not be considered to be merely a spiritual text, but a set of rules and regulations that might be used to resolve different issues. What is more important is that the very name might be interpreted as teaching which implies the practical application of knowledge that is stored in it. That is why it is not surprising that the Jews also applied the text that contained the religious dogma to daily affairs. One should also note that this application is recognized on the state level. For example, according to the tradition of Judaism, on the seventh day of the week, which is Saturday, the Jews should not do any work, but only rest. While this might seem as a peculiar religious tradition; nevertheless, on every Saturday trains do not run in Israel, planes do not fly and the majority of the stores are closed. All this shows how religious principles are able to modify communal behaviour. Moreover, while some rules might have some theological support, they still impose severe restriction that other people, regardless of their involvement into the spiritual practice have to face. The next point that should be noted while considering the nature of Judaism and its communal dimension is the way the above mentioned sacred text is regarded. Thus, there is no doubt in the fact that Torah is the corner stone of this religious tradition (Harvey 2005, p. 74). However, it must be noted that Judaism recognizes two kinds of Torah – Written one and Oral one. As a result, what people tend to mostly

Memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Memo - Essay Example As opposed to storing information to the hard drive of a personal computer, or some other localised device, it is stored in a remote database, with the internet acting as the link/ connection between the said database and the computer/ device. Cloud storage has in the recent part become an essential part of contemporary modern lifestyles. Services such as iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox all scramble for the opportunity to hold important data for their clients on their servers, and this leaves companies with the task of deciding on the product that best suits their current needs. More individuals, groups and organizations increasingly own computing devices in the form of smart-phones, tablets and laptops and the thought of storing data in a traditional desktop PC often seems antiquated. Cloud storage takes charge of this by ensuring that any necessary information in the form of data or files is accessible when needed, and from whichever location. Individuals and organizations may sign up to an array of services that offer to automatically upload photos from smart-phone onto the cloud, sync documents across a number of devices, when also enabling them to work collaboratively on the web. Sharing of large files with colleagues and friends is made easier with cloud bouncing back of files due to inadequate storage space or limitations imposed by email servers is eliminated. In essence, cloud storage only requires a person to share links to files that are stored within the particular cloud service with colleagues or friends, and when they follow the links, they ga in immediate access. The introduction of cloud servers and storage has made it simpler for individuals and organizations to back up important information. It is due to the fact it increases the flexibility of accessing them from any corner of the world. While at the same time there exists the

Health Economics and Financing Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health Economics and Financing - Coursework Example In 1960, the government spent $4553 million on health insurance while the private sector accounted for $1855 million as expenditure. The level of expenditure increased year by year and for 2012, the level of government spending on healthcare was $770,087 million. The private sector expenditure was $29,761 million for the same period. The governments (federal, state and local) are the biggest investors in healthcare in the United States. The data in the tables indicate that the government spends the highest amount of funds in paying for healthcare. This means that the governments are the biggest sponsors of the healthcare than the private sector. The government paid more for healthcare than the private sector (Mooney, 2003). The private sector plays an essential role in the healthcare expenditure. In essence, though the government in the United States is more involved and pays the biggest role in paying for healthcare, the private sector plays a major role in the same. The government alone cannot satisfy all the healthcare needs of the citizens and therefore the private sector comes in to provide and help the government in paying for healthcare. The trends for prescription drugs indicate a decreasing trend as compared to that of for hospitals. Comparing year 2011 and 2012, the prescription drug spending slowed down. It grew by 0.4 percent only in 2012 as compared to the previous 2.5 percent growth in 2011. The rate of use of prescription drug reduced and people preferred hospitals prescriptions. This indicates a growing confidence in hospital services and increased use of hospital services by the citizens (Cutler, 2003). The slow in the trend of prescription drug is an opposite of the previous years where citizens preferred the prescription drugs than for hospitals. With the increased government payment of healthcare, citizens now prefer hospitals than drug prescription. In these data, the

Qualitative Study on COPD Essay Example for Free

Qualitative Study on COPD Essay This is a qualitative study conducted at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler as a randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of a lifestyle behavioral intervention to increase physical activity among patients with moderate to severe COPD. (Wortz, K. 2012) 54 patients of age 45 or older were randomly selected from April 2010 through January 2011 using a patient registry database with a coded diagnosis of COPD along with physician referrals. Data collection consisted of: baseline, demographic, clinical and self-management needs, smoking status, spirometry, 6-min walk distance, BMI, Obstruction, SOB, Exercise Capacity (BODE) index, Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ); which includes 10 open ended questions and Geriatric Depression Scale. A sample of 47 interviews with the mean age of 68.4 years old, 53% male, 87% white were used in the analysis. 57.5% has moderate COPD, 31.9% sever COPD, and 10.6% very severe COPD. (Wortz, K. 2012) The results of this analysis suggest that the content of self-management support with COPD should focus on addressing patients’ fears associated with the uncertainty, progression, suffering of their disease, expectations about overcoming or replacing losses, their needs for improved health literacy and their desire for improved care. Attention to these areas may enhance patient self-efficacy and motivation to improve self management.

Transition from Highschool to University Essay

Transition from Highschool to University Essay Transition of first year students into the university can be difficult for some students as they are required to adapt into a new environment and learning styles that is different from what they have learned during their previous years in school. This report will provide a discussion about the issues affecting the transition of first year students into university life using the topics discussed in FAP101 and other related texts. There are different issues identified in this report and recommendations have also been provided in order to help students in their first year in university and also to help institutions to help their students adapt into university environments and learning styles.These recommendations are as follows; It is essential for universities to introduce or update orientation programs for students before starting university. Institutions should let the students know about the workloads, the assessment styles and writing conventions during the orientation week. It is also important for the institutions to provide highly trained tutors that can work with students to help them with their problems or uncertainty about the topics in a particular course subject. Some students feel more comfortable when they have more friends that go to the same university as them. Students should be aware of workloads and different styles of assessments and also with writing conventions. Before commencing into university, as a student you are also able to attend open days, even during your HSC year, most universities are already organising open days for new students to give more information to students about the institutions and what to expect. Introduction Making a transition of first year students into academic life at an Australian tertiary institution can be one of the most challenging experiences. It is challenging not only in terms of academic purposes but also as it is the stage in students life where they will most likely to experience emotional, financial and social problems. As a student of tertiary school there will be huge adjustments that will have to be made by students such as adjustments to new learning and teaching styles, assessments styles and writing practices. Despite it all, transition to university life can be challenging to some students yet it is still a very awarding experience they will ever have. 2. Definition Transition is simply defined as moving from one level to another, it is a process and not an event in which it symbolise change, it can be seen as a motion from familiar into unfamiliar (Levin, 1987), for example environment. Transition of first year students is defined as moving up from high school into tertiary levels, changes that all first year students entering university has to tackle on. Student transition is also describes as a category of transitional changes that is needed for students in entering academic life in universities, it is a process of moving from one community to another (Tinto,1988). The students relationship with tertiary education is not the same as the one they had in primary or secondary. University has a more complex and comprehensive environment than secondary schools, and many students give up their closeness with their families, friends, and home to cope within the university life for a few years. The students transition is all about the students dealing with the whole university life and not just simply the university as formal and more academic institutions. Students have to adjust into a new learning styles and new surroundings, also with the people in the institutions they will be interacting with during their university life. The students will be likely to deal with a whole form of challenges during their period of time studying in university: social, personal and intellectual. These transitions are sometimes spoken out in high schools or during the last year of high school to give students a picture of how university will be like for them when they enter it but the truth is that some can be true but many are not. 3. STUDENTS TRANSITION Anthropologist Van Gennep, Tinto (1988) has stated that the cycle of entering the university moves through three distinct stages separation, transition and incorporation. 3.1 Separation during the separation stage, student will require to disconnect their selves from their connections of prior relationships with communities such as high school or home environments or anything that are atleast less stressful in order to adapt university life. 3.2 Transition students will find themselves interacting to other people with a completely new environment and learning strategies, and in order to make connections they have to blend in. During the transition stage, students have not quite accomplished the separation stage and still not obtained the academic and social interaction with the new stage of their learning. As Anthropologist Van Gennep, Tinto proposed, it is the stage where the process of moving from one community to another is taking place and he also said that this stage can be more or less stressful and difficult for some students. The first two stages is where students are often in greater risk of dropping out from their courses (Hillman, 2005) 3.3 Incorporation means inclusion, it is the final stage of the model that has been proposed by Tinto. It is the stage where students face difficulties in adopting the standards suitable to the new environment or setting, and in this case, it is the university or any tertiary levels. In order to accomplish this stage, students have to allocate contacts with different members from the institutions to set up social and academic connections. 4. ISSUES AFFECTING STUDENTS TRANSITION There are three identified main sections in which transition can be problematic, they are as follows; students anxiety, adjustment processes, and the continuity with respect to the curriculum (Hargreaves, et al 1996). Although they only have studied primary and secondary transitions, it is also identified that their findings are also relevant to other contexts such as the university or in the workplace. People tend to worry their selves when entering a new stage of their life, just like how students worry when entering university life. This can be a big problem when all they think about is the negative sides. The second section is the adjustment processes, as a new university students, you will have to adjust to the new environment and new learning styles. Continuity with respect to subject course studies can be problematic because some people are not aware of the difference of the subject studied in high school and universities, in terms of workloads and assessments style. If these problems that have been stated by Hargreaves, Earl and Ryan (1996) continued, this could lead to withdrawal or dropping out of a student from university studies. 4.1 Expectations of students prior to commencement During the final year of secondary school, most institutions chose to expose the students into basic academic strategies. It is to help supplement their students learning in to more academic stage to give them a basic image of how university will be like when they get to tertiary levels but despite it all, it is not enough. Most students have failed to adapt the academic transition when they enter university because they only have a basic knowledge about university life. The most common expectations first year students have of university life are as follows: -having fun during their studies, -meeting new people and making friends with them, Freedom that they never had during secondary studies. -more interesting subjects When students start their first few weeks in the university, they will find that the expectations theyve had prior to commencing university studies are actually the other way around. It is actually difficult to make friends, and that they will find out that there are much heavier workloads than they have expected during their high school life, and more. 4.2 The most common issues faced by first year student Are the following: fitting in to the new environment, most students undertaking their first year at the university are having hard times fitting into the new environment. University campuses are wide and groups of buildings can be associated with the institutions. Finding rooms can be a real hassle especially when the university is consists of different buildings. -making new friends, most students often start their first year at the university excited in making friends and meeting new people but sometimes, university is not described as a friendly place, as more students going to the university are more focus on their academic life than their social life. -University workload, this is one of the issues that cause a student to withdraw and give up their studies. It is because of their lack of confidence and usually these types of students are the ones who do not know how to manage their time for every subject which ended them up of leaving behind their study course. 5. CONCLUSION First year at universities are highly important in students life as they are now entering a different and a higher stage of education, it is significant yet its very challenging. Making the transition to academic life at an Australian university can be one of the most difficult and challenging experiences faces by first year students. Transition to the university life have also been one of the reasons why some students withdraws from their study, as they have experienced hard times or lack of self confidence to tackle the new stage of education. In order for students to achieved this stage of their life many institutions have introduced programs to help students and encourage them on how to be more focused in their studies and how to overcome the issues discussed in this report. 6. RECOMMENDATIONS It is essential for universities to introduce or update orientation programs for students before starting university. Institutions should provide a culture of university and also give the students advice in entering the university. It is also the students responsible to research information about the university they are planning to enroll in, in order to have knowledge about it when starting their tertiary education. Institutions should let the students know about the workloads, the assessment styles and writing conventions during the orientation week, so students can learn how to manage their times prior to commencing university studies. It is also a good idea for institutions to provide programs during the orientation week for first years students to get to know each other It is also important for the institutions to provide highly trained tutors that can work with students to help them with their problems or uncertainty about the topics in a particular course subject. Also a highly trained counsellor to help students with their problems outside university life, such as family problems and help them assist and overcome these issues to maintain the grades. Some students feel more comfortable when they have more friends that go to the same university as them. In order to make new friends and get the ability to get to know other people from the university, you have to be friendly to them and enhance your communication skills. Respect others if you want them to respect you too. Students should be aware of workloads and different styles of assessments and also with writing conventions. Students also have to be aware that entering a tertiary stage means that they have to be thinking more critically and more academic as they are now treated as adult. They should also be aware that lecturers are not as reliable as the teachers you had in high school, they expect you to be acting and thinking academically. Before commencing into university, as a student you are also able to attend open days, even during your HSC year, most universities are already organising open days for new students to give more information to students about the institutions and what to expect.

Comparing the Dominant and Feminist Readings of Shakespeares King Lear

Comparing the Dominant and Feminist Readings of King Lear      Ã‚   Shakespeare's King Lear has been the source of much contention as to the way in which the text can be read. The play originally was written for the Jacobean audience of Shakespeare's time, but since then has taken on many other readings. These new readings are produced to comment on issues in the society in which it is explored. Readings encompass a wide range of ideas - from the Dominant reading, the manner in which Shakespeare's audience would have perceived the text, to feminist ideals. The various readings are influenced by the context in which they are discussed. In particular the dominant and feminist readings of King Lear both perceive the text in different contexts; the dominant following the traditional Jacobean interpretation as it was originally written, and the feminist reading pursuing a need for the lack of a patriarchal society in the twentieth century. King Lear can be read in a variety of ways, achieving a set perspective that suits the reader.    The Jacobean reading of King Lear focuses the blame for chaos and the subsequent tragedies on Lear's foolish decision to divide his kingdom between his three daughters. Though the play is set in pre-Christian times, Shakespeare's audience was greatly influenced by Elizabethan structure and hierarchy. According to the Great Chain of Being, God was the head of the universe, and the King was established as Gods connection to people. Lear's choice of abdication would have been viewed as blasphemy towards God. The audience would now perceive Lear's tragedy as inevitable due to his decisions. The play `King Lear' can be viewed as an expression of the Jacobean period concept of so... ... focuses on Lear's downfall and the pity we feel for Lear. The feminist reading of King Lear focuses on how the portrayal of women in the play is of a negative aspect and displays women as unfit for any role of leadership, else chaos ensues. The film A Thousand Miles shows how King Lear can be interpreted as a feminist reading in a contemporary setting, revealing the text King Lear in an entirely new light - women portrayed as the victims of men. King Lear can indeed be read in a variety of ways.    Works Cited Frey, C.   Experiencing Shakespeare.   Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1988. Granville-Barker, H.   Prefaces to Shakespeare.   London: B.T. Batsford INC, 1984. Halio, J.   The Tragedy of King Lear.   Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.   Thompson, A.   King Lear Criticism.   NJ: Humanities Press International, 1988.

Admissions Essay - The Art of Medicine :: Medicine College Admissions Essays

Admissions Essay - The Art of Medicine Once upon a time, it seems, physicians were wise and good, and medicine was an art. That's the feeling I get reading from the Chahar Maqala, tales from a time when doctors diagnosed lovesick princes from a urine sample, a pulse, and a review of local geography. American medicine in the late 20th century seems considerably less romantic. Protocols and seven-minute patient visits are supposed to leave physicians tracking blood pressure readings and calibrating Prozac prescriptions. There's no time for wisdom in an HMO, or so the wiser and more ancient of current physicians lament. So it was with certain trepidation that I spent a day last December in an internist's office. The morning started slowly, with a 63 year old woman with a history of hypertension, back in the office four months after her pills ran out. Her blood pressure, not surprisingly, was high. The doctor reminded her, wearily, to call the office for refills. She nodded. "Compliance," he told me, as we left the exam room, "is our biggest problem." As the day wore on, a steady procession of patients made their way into exam rooms, worried about menopause, stuffy sinuses, colds caught from grandchildren, and all that ails retirees in late December. Just before lunch, an 86-year-old man edged his way into an exam room, dividing his weight between his cane and his wife. "Yesterday, I felt like I couldn't breath," he said. "I can't leave the house. I get too tired." I'd been warned that I would help take the history on this patient, and I was planning out my questions. A pulmonary complaint - "I can't breath" -- elicit a standard list, designed to distinguish heart failure from pneumonia from various other ailments - when did the shortness of breath start? Had he noticed he was more tired recently when he walked or exercised? Did he sleep with lots of pillows to prop him up when he slept? Did he feel pain in his chest when he inhaled? Exhaled? My mind was racing. The doctor, meanwhile, was interested in golf. "Do you get out on the greens at all?," he asked. The patient sighed. "No, I'll fall down, can't walk that far. I'm too tired. I can't breath." After asking the patient's wife to leave the room, the doctor told him to undress. Admissions Essay - The Art of Medicine :: Medicine College Admissions Essays Admissions Essay - The Art of Medicine Once upon a time, it seems, physicians were wise and good, and medicine was an art. That's the feeling I get reading from the Chahar Maqala, tales from a time when doctors diagnosed lovesick princes from a urine sample, a pulse, and a review of local geography. American medicine in the late 20th century seems considerably less romantic. Protocols and seven-minute patient visits are supposed to leave physicians tracking blood pressure readings and calibrating Prozac prescriptions. There's no time for wisdom in an HMO, or so the wiser and more ancient of current physicians lament. So it was with certain trepidation that I spent a day last December in an internist's office. The morning started slowly, with a 63 year old woman with a history of hypertension, back in the office four months after her pills ran out. Her blood pressure, not surprisingly, was high. The doctor reminded her, wearily, to call the office for refills. She nodded. "Compliance," he told me, as we left the exam room, "is our biggest problem." As the day wore on, a steady procession of patients made their way into exam rooms, worried about menopause, stuffy sinuses, colds caught from grandchildren, and all that ails retirees in late December. Just before lunch, an 86-year-old man edged his way into an exam room, dividing his weight between his cane and his wife. "Yesterday, I felt like I couldn't breath," he said. "I can't leave the house. I get too tired." I'd been warned that I would help take the history on this patient, and I was planning out my questions. A pulmonary complaint - "I can't breath" -- elicit a standard list, designed to distinguish heart failure from pneumonia from various other ailments - when did the shortness of breath start? Had he noticed he was more tired recently when he walked or exercised? Did he sleep with lots of pillows to prop him up when he slept? Did he feel pain in his chest when he inhaled? Exhaled? My mind was racing. The doctor, meanwhile, was interested in golf. "Do you get out on the greens at all?," he asked. The patient sighed. "No, I'll fall down, can't walk that far. I'm too tired. I can't breath." After asking the patient's wife to leave the room, the doctor told him to undress.

What must be done to protect New Zealand’s wildlife

There is much said about protecting native species all around the world and New Zealand is no exception. In New Zealand we are facing challenges of our own when it comes to protecting and conserving our native species. This challenges range from oil spills to climate change to over-harvesting (in particular whale hunting). It is common reality that more needs to be done to protect our native New Zealand species. And this needs collective effort from each and every one of us to protect our native species-the government, NGOs and citizens. in my essay I will be emphasising on what we can do as individuals to contribute to protecting and conserving the native species and these includes reducing our carbon footprint, considering our lifestyle and lastly speaking out. I will then conclude by emphasising these points. Brief Background Due to its long geological isolation since breaking away from the supercontinent Gondwana about 80 million years ago, New Zealand’s plant and animal life has developed down a unique evolutionary path. Many of our native plants and animals are endemic – that is, found nowhere else in the world. The level of endemism among New Zealand plants and animals is one of the highest in the world. The tuatara, moa, kiwi, kokako, saddleback, huia, kakapo, native frogs and giant carnivorous land snails are just some of the species that are uniquely New Zealand. This isolation in the absence of mammalian predators for millions of years also meant that many of our native species were virtually defenceless against attack – for example, many of our native birds like the kiwi are flightless and nest on the ground. When humans – first Maori and then European settlers – arrived in New Zealand, introduced mammals came with them: rats, possums, stoats, ferrets, weasels, deer, pigs, mice, cats, dogs and others. These introduced species quickly took a heavy toll as they preyed and browsed on New Zealand’s largely defenceless native species, or competed with them. Human activities such as felling and burning vegetation and draining wetlands also destroyed much of the native species’ habitats. Native species such as the moa, huia, and the world’s largest-ever eagle, the Haast’s eagle, the South Island kokako and many others became extinct. Many more, such as the Takahe, the Kakapo and the long-tailed bat were radically reduced in number and remain perilously close to extinction today. Against this backdrop, the protection of our native species becomes ever more urgent. Thus this brings me to my emphasis on what we can do as individuals to protect our native species. Protection of our native species doesn’t only mean big campaigns by organization such as green peace o world wildlife fund. It also concerns us as individuals to contribute in our own small ways in protecting our native species. Unfortunately, we as individuals don’t realise these. Therefore, there are three things that I believe we can do to help in protecting our native species. They are reducing our carbon footprint, considering our lifestyles and last of all speaking out. Reduce our carbon footprint Each and every one of us can help save the planet from runaway climate change. Carbon emissions have been scientifically proven to be one of the main contributors to global warming. And as individuals, we think that releasing of carbon to the atmosphere is mainly done by factories of all sorts without realising that we also contribute to that. Therefore I believe that we have a responsibility to ensure that we minimise this. So this is how it can be done. Ever wondered how much difference your small actions really make? If every New Zealand household took these three simple actions, it could have a big impact. First of all, go car-free one day a week. Transport is a major contributor to New Zealand's emissions (20%). If everyone in New Zealand who currently drives to work were to walk, cycle or take public transport on just one day per week, it would save up to 114,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year (Landcare Research’s carboNZero Programme Dec 2008). Secondly, we must switch our bulbs. If every household swapped their remaining old-style light bulbs for new energy efficient ones, this could save up to 0.6 billion kWh of electricity or 106,800 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year (Landcare Research’s carboNZero Programme in December 2008) Thirdly, we must turn un-needed appliances off at the wall. When not in use things like heated towels rails and appliances on standby account for almost 1 billion kWh of electricity per year or 165,700 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (Landcare Research’s carboNZero Programme in December 2008). If every household simply turned these off, we could make a big saving. So if all of the above actions are taken, it all adds up to us as individually contributing to reducing carbon emissions. According to Landcare research, the combined impact of these actions would be an emissions reduction of 386,500 tonnes CO2 equivalent per year. This is equivalent to over 839,000 car journeys from Kaitaia to Invercargill (Landcare Research’s carboNZero Programme in December 2008). Figures are based on work by Landcare Research’s carboNZero Programme in December 2008 commissioned by WWF-New Zealand. Consider our lifestyle Have we ever wondered how our lifestyles can contribute to carbon emissions which impact on the environment? In our pursuit of pleasure, enjoyment and expensive lifestyle we have become careless-careless in the sense that we are consuming things that we don’t really need. Carbon emissions are created by stuff – the more stuff you buy, use, consume and throw away the more you’re contributing to climate change. Did we ever known that? I guess no. Take a look at what we really need. Can we cut down on anything? By eating meat and animal products our carbon footprint will be higher than on a vege diet. Can we eat less meat? Garbage emits methane – a greenhouse gas – as it breaks down. Can we reduce our waste? Clothes, furniture, electrical goods – everything really – takes resources to produce and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions as it is moved around the planet. Can you buy less stuff and local stuff instead? Or above all consume only stuff that we really need. You can help – Speak out The last thing we can do is speak out. There are petitions made by organizations such as Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to the government. The best we can do to help is to sign up. One such petition is the Forest & Bird’s petition. You can help by signing Forest & Bird's petition to save sea lions. In this petition, WWF is calling on the New Zealand Government to immediately take the following action: 1. Determine the relative importance of the threats facing the sea lions. 2. Revise the Department of Conservations Sea Lion Species Management Plan. – (The revised plan should provide clear, time-bound actions to address the main threats identified in the comparative assessment.) 3. Develop an improved population model to guide sea lion mortality limits. – (The model should address the flaws in the current model and also consider the effect of food competition and epidemics.) 4. Set a precautionary mortality limit for sea lions in the squid fishery. – (This limit should be based on the improved population model and on a conservative assessment of the effectiveness of sea lion exclusion devices.) 5. Set an explicit sea lion mortality limit in the Campbell southern blue whiting fishing. 6. Set precautionary allocations of squid and other southern ocean fish stocks. – (These allocations should be ecologically based and explicitly considers direct and indirect effects of fishing on sea lions.) The numbers of sea lion pups are in freefall – estimates from the Department of Conservation show pup production has halved since 1998. So we can play our part by signing the petition. Conclusion To conclude, we must know that protecting native New Zealand species does not concern only the government or organizations such as WWF. It also concerns us as individuals to contribute in our own small ways. We need a collective effort to protect New Zealand’s native species.

AGRANA †From a local supplier to a global player Essay

The home market from the European Union is one market which everyone has free movement with goods, services, capital and people. This was not always the way if we look back before the time of the EU we had a Europe which was overfilled with conflicts and wars. Because of the foundation of the EU we got a lot of opportunities in the Western Europe and in Central and Eastern Europe but also challenges because it’s not easy to bring so many different countries together with different rules, cultures, norms and ethics under one big Union. Western Europe The Western Europe refers to the countries in the west of Europe, where the distinction is different depending on the context. But the borders between Western Europe and CEE were once determined by the ratio of power between USA and UDSSR during the Cold War. Europe was then divided in half by the Iron Curtain. Opportunities: One big opportunity for Western Europe is that the firms can get cheap human capital for their own work. Even today a blue-collar worker in Germany earns a lot more than in Poland. Another point is that the firms can invest in other enterprises from the CEE. So they can grow extremely fast as we have seen this with the AGRANA Company. With the difference in culture between Western Europe and CEE the firms can enter in a new market which can be really profitable. Challenges: But the fact, that the firms can get so cheap human resources, is on the other hand also a problem. Because of the cheap human resources, the own home country workers will lose their job and the unemployment rate of the country will rise. Another challenges is, that firms from the CEE area can expand to the Western Europe area, so there is the danger, that it will get dumping prices. The other culture and norms makes the whole situation a lot harder. The firms have to consider lots of different aspects. When they don’t do that the new branches cannot rise and flourish in the CEE countries. These are a few challenges for the Western part of Europe and it is not easy to solve these problems. Central and Eastern Europe The Central and Eastern Europe countries include all the Eastern bloc countries west of the Iron Curtain, which was collapsed in 1989-90. Also included are the three Baltic States Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Opportunities: For the CEE states the integration of EU markets brought with it many opportunities to grow economically and politically. One of the big opportunities is that the CEE countries can benefit from the higher level of living from the Western Europe countries. Everybody can work easier and live in another country. So if you want to leave your home country and settle down somewhere else that is no longer a problem. We still see this phenomenon to this very day in the Western European countries. More and more people are coming to live in the country than emigrate. The firms which can make business in the CEE countries are creating new workplaces and paying taxes on the profit. So the whole country and the government have the chance to raise their level of living. Challenges: Of course there are on the other side also challenges for the CEE countries. One of them is that the countries have to pay attention to their own experts in the country. A lot of firms in the Western part of Europe want to win the elite of the country over. This can be very dangerous for the own economy. The second aspect is that because of the globalization the poverty gap is getting bigger and bigger every day. The CEE countries have to be very careful that they don’t lose the access to the industry states. Question 2: From a resource-based view, what is behind AGRANA ´s impressive growth? â€Å"AGRANA was founded in 1988 as a holding company for the Austrian sugar and Starch industry. Operations started with 3 sugar plants, a potato starch plant and a corn starch plant.† â€Å"Nowadays, AGRANA is one of the leading suppliers to the multinational brands around the world with revenues of US $ 2.6 billion and capitalization of $1.4 billion. In the last two decades, it has become a global player with 52 production plants in 26 countries with three strategic pillars: sugar, starch and fruit.† The resource-based view focuses on a firm ´s internal resources and capabilities, for instance rare knowledge in the refining and processing of agricultural raw materials like AGRANA. These specific knowledge is a big advantage for the AGRANA company and not easy to copy by other competitors. â€Å"After the reorganization of the European sugar market by the European Union, AGRANA was motivated to look for new directions to ensure future growth of the enterprise. AGRANA decided to diversify into the fruit-processing sector in the future.† This was a really well-chosen decision, because AGRANA was able to transmit their core competence of the refinement process comparatively easy to the fruit sector. With the existing knowledge â€Å"AGRANA focused on fruit preparations and the manufacturing of fruit juice concentrates to sell them globally to fruit juice and beverage bottlers and fillers.† An analysis of the dates of the Tables 4.1a and c (AGRANA plant locations) shows, that the fruit sector is mostly responsible for the impressive growth of the AGRANA Company in the last years. In only four years (from 2002/3 to 2006/7) AGRANA ´s plant locations increased from totally 20 plant locations (15 Sugar, 5 Starch, 0 Fruit) to 53 (10 Sugar, 4 Starch, 39 Fruit). It is noticeable that during these four years the reduction of the number of sugar and starch plants was completely compensated by the new fruit plant locations. Moreover, AGRANA expanded during the growth period across the world. Especially with the fruit sector AGRANA practiced plant ´s in countries like Argentina, Brazil, China and USA for example. The key to the impressive growth of AGRANA and particular the fruit sector were firstly acquisitions and secondly â€Å"the ability to integrate those acquired into the group to realize synergistic effects† . It started with the acquisitions of Denmark ´s Vallo Saft (presence in Denmark and Poland) and Austria ´s Steirerobst (presence in Austria, Hungary, Poland Romania, Ukraine and Russia) in 2003. Furthermore, this was followed by acquisitions of France Atys Group (largest acquisition, 20 plants across every continent), Belgium ´s Dirafrost and Germany ´s Wink Group. â€Å"AGRANA ´s most recent expansion was a 50-50 joint venture with Xianyang Andre Juice Co. Ltd. in China.† The chosen consistent acquisitions policy of AGRANA ´s CEO Johann Marihart was only possible because of existing relationships and a huge amount of capital. AGRANA benefited from existing relationships to the food and beverage industry from the sugar and starch sector, whereby the diversification into a new sector was a bit more straightforward. With the existing relationships it was easier to find on the one hand acceptors for the new AGRANA products and on the other hand new business partners in the area of distribution for example. Furthermore, â€Å"Johann Marihart believes that growth is an essential requirement for the manufacturing of high-grade products at competitive prices.† For this very reason, AGRANA is prospecting for new growth opportunities in the future. Hence, AGRANA has started to diversify into the biofuel sector to ensure future growth and expansion of the company. Question 3: From an international perspective what challenges do you foresee AGRANA facing as it continues its expansion into other regions such as Asia? The impressive growth of the AGRANA Company is connected with an expanding strategy in Europe as well as in other continents like America and Asia. With this strategy AGRANA discovers new regional, cultural and language challenges for instance. AGRANDA already have a lot of experience in Asia because in 2006 they acquired a 50 % stake in concentrates manufacturer Xianyang Andre Juice Co. Ltd the company is located in the province Shaanxi China and also in 2008 AGRANA started a second joint venture for apple juice concentrate in Yongji China. But maybe they might have the problem of adapting to a different business culture. The business model that AGRANA use in Europe and the western world might not work as well in Asia. AGRANA will have to be flexible and adapt to the business characteristics of that certain country that they expand too. Many Asian countries have certain business characteristics that are deeply related to the countries tradition and these traditions will not in most cases be changed. Because of this many of AGRANA’s business standards such as work ethics and management styles may not match up well with Asian culture. In Asia a lot of administrative tasks that have been made easy in the west can be very time consuming. Many procedures that would be handled electronically in the West need a lot of paperwork which need to be filled out and stamped by hand. Cultural misunderstanding from miscommunication could be one of the biggest challenges that AGRANA will have to face. It might be very hard to make a business deal in Asia because of communication problems as there are a lot of English speakers in Asia but not many of them would have a strong enough understanding of both Chinese and western culture to help in business negotiation situation. Also Many Asian countries have high context cultures and AGRANDA would be more used to operating in low context cultures like in most of Europe. â€Å"In high context cultures communication relies upon unspoken conditions or assumptions.† This means that â€Å"yes† does not necessarily mean â€Å"yes† and this could be a major challenge for AGRANDA as they would not be used to this. Also another challenge that AGRANA might face would be that their products might not be as popular in these regions and because of this it might not be as profitable for the company to open a branch in Asia. Some of the infrastructure might not be very good in some eastern Asian countries so things like transportation of their products might not be delivered very safe or as efficient as in their European branches. Also because of climate and pollution it might cost more money to keep the products fresh. ARGANDA might have trouble with human resources because in the western world employees give a lot of responsibility and would have more flexible lines of authority whereas most of the Asian workers are more accustoms to a hierarchical structure in which each worker has their own role. All in all AGRANDA cannot guarantee success in another region but if they stay sensitive to the areas culture and local traditions for instance they can at least avoid some basic mistakes. Question 4: Compare the growth strategy of AGRANA to that of Danisco, one of its competitors in the sugar market. Which strategy do you expect to be more sustainable in the long run? To sum up the second question, AGRANA ´s impressive growth strategy is affected by acquisition associated with the diversification into the fruit sector. AGRANA acquired competitors particularly in Europe and expanded around the World and led them to be one of the biggest players. â€Å"The Danisco Company is a Danish bio-based company with activities in food production, enzymes and other bioproducts as well as a wide variety of pharmaceutical grade excipients.† â€Å"Danisco employed 6800 people in 17 countries† and â€Å"is one of the world’s leading producers of ingredients for food and other consumer products and was also one of the biggest sugar producers in Europe until the divestment of its sugar division to Nordzucker in 2009.† However, to look at the things in the right sequences: â€Å"Danisco had been created in 1989 by a merger of three companies aiming to create a strong Danish company that could compete in the EU common market after its completion† The new company reinforced the foods, food ingredients and packaging businesses, particularly in the sugar sector, â€Å"Danisco first consolidated its dominant position and Denmark, and then grew by acquisitions.† But after the reorganization of the European sugar market and also because of the intensity of competition in the sugar market, Danisco was motivated to alter and started a longtime transformation process. In 1997, the new CEO Alf Duch-Pedersen of Danisco â€Å"started focusing on becoming a global food ingredients company.† During the following years, Danisco started to acquire lots of ingredient and similar companies to initiate the transformation. The first step to become a global food ingredients company was to acquire the Finnish ingredient company Cultor in 1999 and at the same time the divestment of the De Danske Spritfabrikker Company (spirits and liqueurs) and branded foods and food packaging. In June 2004, â€Å"Danisco acquired the Rhodia Food Ingredients Company which becomes Danisco ´s dairy cultures division. The division is one of the two leading producers of dairy cultures and food safety products†. Rhodia is located in France and is an international operating company with a worldwide presence in Asia Pacific, Latin America and North America for instance. This will be followed by the acquisition of Genencor International in 2005, â€Å"which became Danisco ´s enzymes and bio-chemicals division†. Furthermore, Danisco invested in new research establishments in Shanghai, China for example. In contrast to AGRANA, Danisco divested as well, for example the flavor division to Firmenich. But the most important decision was the divestment of Danisco ´s sugar division to the German Nordzucker AG. With the divestment of the sugar division, which was one of its main divisions in the past, the transformation process was completed. During the transformation process the internationalization of sales of the company increased rapidly. It is mentioned that the sales outside of Denmark rose from â€Å"69 per cent 1995 to 88 per cent in 2004 and over 95 per cent after the sale of the sugar division†. In addition, it is impressive to see that the turnover of Danisco was â‚ ¬ 1.7 million in 2009 and that the turnover consisted mostly of all the continents, that means that Daniso has become a global player operating all over the world. â€Å"After the transformation, Danisco was positioned as a specialized supplier of food ingredients based natural raw materials. Its customers included global food giants such as Unilever, Kraft, DANONE and Nestlà ©, as well as regional and local players in all major economies.† In a final step, Danisco were acquired by the DuPont Company in 2011. â€Å"Danisco ´s attractive industrial enzymes and specialty food ingredients businesses have clear synergies with the DuPont Applied BioSciences and Nutrition and Health businesses.† This merger advances both companies ‘global efforts to provide sustainable solutions and to ensure future growth and expansion of the company. Summing up one can say that AGRANA grew by acquiring a lot around the world and by diversifying their business. Danisco grew by internationalizing their sales, transforming their business to the leading producers of ingredients for food and selling their previous businesses in order to focus on the new ones. The most important difference between these two growth strategies is that AGRANA wanted to ensure future growth by diversifying into other products with their existing knowledge. Danisco wanted to guarantee future growth by transforming themselves into a leader in a niche market. To answer the last question we want to define â€Å"Sustainability in the long run†. Sustainability or sustainable strategy at its most basic level â€Å"suggests that a company will improve its chances of survival in the future by ensuring that resources used by the business are responsibly managed and maintained.† Moreover, â€Å"in business, it is the ability of a company to develop and implement winning strategies that lead to long-term success† and the ability to decide â€Å"when to stay on course with the proven strategies or when it is time for change.† We expect the AGRANA’s strategy to be more sustainable in the long run thanks to their diversified sources of income such as their three main pillars: starch, sugar and fruit. AGRANA has more sectors to play on so AGRANA is not as dependent of a specific product sector like Danisco if business does not go as planned. The opportunities of growth are also bigger, because AGRANA has more capital and AGRANA has more companies to sell their AGRANA products to in the future because AGRANA is present worldwide and especially in emerging markets. In addition, AGRANA is part of a safe market, AGRANA ´s three pillars are always in demand also due to the fact that the earth population will grow. Moreover, AGRANA could enlarge their product line by diversifying to another sector with their existing knowledge as well as the fruit sector. All in all, AGRANA has a very good sustainable business strategy and we think that AGRANA will continue to be very successful in the future. Resources: http://www.danisco.com/about-dupont/duponttm-daniscor/history/ http://www.agrana.com/en/agrana-group/about-agrana/history-of-agrana/ http://www.us-pacific-rim.net/the-five-biggest-challenges-for-businesses-in-china.html http://www.mapconsulting.com/articles1-177/BusinessSustainabilityTheStrategiestoAchievetheLeadershiptha- tMakesItHappen http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-long-term-sustainability.htm http://www.rhodia.com/en/about_us/worldwide_presence/index.tcm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrana#History

Deciding future US foreign policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Deciding future US foreign policy - Essay Example The United States would seem to occupy an enviable position in the world. Even as others must constantly account for the U.S., it would appear that the U.S. need not account for others. Compared with all other states, the United States is in a class by itself.No other country can match the health and productivity of its economy, the extent of its scientific and technological resources, its ability to sustain massive levels of defense spending, or the power, sophistication, and global reach of its armed forces. With these capabilities, the United States has enjoyed a unipolar if not a hegemonic state in world affairs. However, in light of the recent September 11 terrorist attacks, the Iraq war and Afghan conflict and the non-involvement of former strong allies, many critics have pointed out that the position enjoyed by the United States in world affairs is in danger and that a re-evaluation of foreign policy is called for. What should be the foreign policy adapted by the United States in the future.To a large extent, George W. Bush's administration has generally embraced primacy and the unilateralist foreign policy beliefs and preferences that underlie it. Early on, there were indications that the administration might exercise restraint in its foreign policy (e.g., Rice 2000; Zoellick 2000). Whatever the early indications, after 9/11, the administration quickly shifted gears to more aggressive and unilateral efforts, displaying a penchant for "bombing alone." This foreign policy has proven itself largely ineffective. While the United States has been successful in dismantling unfriendly nations who they accuse of having weapons of mass destruction, it has not prevented the increasing hatred for America and its nationals. The world still remains much the same with two differences- suicide bombings targeting US nationals or allies have intensified and US finds itself fewer allies. In the spirit of Neo-conservatism, the US embarked on a global war on terror to prese rve human rights for all the righteous people in the world only to face greater threats. If Henry Kissinger had his way, the US should have a 'realist' foreign policy wherein decisions are made based on material or military power rather than on ideals. It also involves an appraisal of the cultures and tendencies of other nations and not acting based on domestic feelings. Before the state acts, it must first question whether it is both practical and ideal. Kissinger's Realism aimed at defending American national interests by balancing adversaries and not promoting American hegemony or transforming the global order. The idea of the United States acting only if it benefits them with minimal harm is increasingly becoming popular but such a policy would only project further the image of the United States as an opportunistic nation filled with self-gratifying individuals both of which are two propaganda materials for terrorist organizations. America has been formerly isolationist up until the middle of the 20th century due to its reluctance to meddle directly in European affairs. It was only after the two world wars where the United States saw it fit to assume the role of a watchdog. Should America isolate itself by withdrawing its troops stationed in other countries and become a passive observer of events in other countries According to Sachs (2001), the hatred for Americans stems from its seeming disregard for national sovereignty by intervening in local affairs. Unable to remain separate or immune and feeling overwhelmed by the unwelcome forces, people lash out against their perceived chief source of ill feelings - the United States. Isolationist America finds further support from Huntington (1993) who argues that actively intervening in world affairs forces cultures and civilizations into greater contact with each other, increasing the likelihood of conflict. The Defense Department's Joint Visio