Monday, December 30, 2019

Methods of improving the supply chain of custom cars within Sri Lanka. - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2376 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Uncategorized Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Methods of improving the supply chain of custom cars within Sri Lanka. Title: Paintyourcar.lk Problem statement In the 21st century delivery orders made custom car and stuff are much more evolved and become more efficient. But there are problems and issues that affect the efficiency and features that can be achieved by implementation of a distribution network in most custom car online. Custom car delivery online business takes delivery of the custom car on a whole new level and reduces most of the problems are met where delivery today. The drawbacks of the current system in which the supply takes place are great. These are affecting customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is one of the most important things that must be achieved to become a business and in this case the delivery of the custom car should be handled without problems. There is a problem when facing custom car delivery when orders are made within the city limits. For an example of deliveries are made within a mile of the central exhibition hall or store fixed local agent. In this situation affect customers who live ou tside the city limits. But this will not affect customers who live within the city limits fixed and found no problems. It is also a problem when you order customized custom car customer and suits have no idea that the custom car will be delivered after the custom. And the client should buy auto show room form and unity to customizing showroom Online custom car delivery business on the island can be improved by implementing a service where customers can view, review and custom car online orders. At a time when computers and is used in all areas to get the process in order to provide the Internet can be a huge advantage for customers. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Methods of improving the supply chain of custom cars within Sri Lanka." essay for you Create order Background What is it? This delivery system is a custom car online. We are thinking of implementing this system custom car online delivery in Sri Lanka because they are not very familiar with car delivery systems in Sri Lanka Customers. And if we can implement this in a short period of time that will be the first to make a delivery system such online car custom in Sri Lanka. Our goal is to make a new type of delivery system that customers appreciate happily. We have done this on your system so that it can be easy and can be used by many people at once. Order and payment are made online so it is time -saving and easy for customers to choose exactly what you want. We will be giving personalized customer car home when they ask for custom car. The main advantage we have is that we have offered various carà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s custom of different Car brands in one place at one time. Through this website that allow our customers to send feedbacks and questions about us. Why is it important? When our group was discussing the final draft that we think make such a system to provide online custom car, because this type of delivery system custom car online can be very important and useful in Sri Lanka. The world has evolved, and even in Sri Lanka, all are connected to the Internet every time. Nowadays people always want to make your work easier and faster. Through this delivery system custom car online that helps people to save their time and cost of travel. They can just bring your car to your door step personalized sitting next to your computer or laptop. is done online through a payment gateway for high security . Another thing that this car custom management system can be useful is that customers can order the machineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s various company with different messages at the same time. And order will be delivered in a single. List of all user requirements Various custom car items Catalogue of all available custom car items Proper navigation Reliable payment gateways Easy way of payment Good security thorough the payment Explanation of the current system Delivery systems is realized through supply custom car shop visit. Clients usually have a catalog or brochure is printed and distributed by the car showroom. They read the catalog and order a custom car s. Today we can see an exhibition of cars have their own website and customers can view the catalog via the Internet. But to order custom car s customers should visit the showroom. Consumers call for the cars showroom custom and deliver it to the door. Payment is made ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¹ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¹there. Drawbacks of the current system By going through the drive current delivery systems custom we got to know the customers and even the difficulties faced by the system to make this work. For customers, if they are looking for the website is custom ordered, should ask how the custom car. If it is a busy time and customers need custom car at the same time they have to wait by the phone for a while to give her orders. The difficulty is that showroom should keep extra people as telephone operators and is an additional cost for them. They have no guarantee that the person asking the right custom car, or if you really need custom car. A single person can call and ask about the car as the dealer goes everywhere and there when no one is there to take the basketà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s custom. Because the payment is made after delivery custom car Suggested Solution: 2.6 Explanation of the proposed system In a time where internet is used in every aspect of our living it is a must for every business or organization to employ the features that a web based system will provide. Huge achievements are achieved in the likes of efficiency and reliability by doing an online system for a business. Our system has been adapted to take maximum advantage of the features and advantages that a web based system will provide. The newly proposed system will make use of online payments through reliable payment gateways which are accepted worldwide and which are secure enough to handle huge amounts of payments in a daily schedule. Users have the option to view all the restaurants which are available in the service and can view the items in the restaurant in a categorized manner from which users will be able to add their desired item to the custom cart. When the customer is satisfied with the items which have been added to the tray and ready to make the payments, the user can now check out with the selected items in the cart, or if something goes wrong the users have the option to rollback and empty the cart to start again with new items, or can remove specific items from the tray and add new items to the tray. A detailed report of the prices of the items which have been added to the cart is shown in the tray view. After the user is done adding custom car items to the cart, he/she can now proceed to checking out, where the user has to provide all the details of him/her and select the desired payment method. After he/she provides the detail an administrator will check the order and confirm. Then the delivery boys will go to the required restaurant and take the order and deliver it to the doorstep of the customer. Description: Project Objectives The main objective of the system is to provide an elegant and easy solution for online custom car delivery and to provide functionality for the customers. And in the process maintaining the security of the system and assuring that to the customers. To achieve this main object the project will emphasize on creating good interfaces and easy access to the resources offered by the service. Below listed are the objectives which come under the main objective. To design and implement a good looking visual interface for the system which allows good navigation system and easy access to the items offered by the service. To provide the customers with good security measures this will assure a second come-back the site. To extend the business of fast custom car restaurants wider and help them reach to a much bigger stage. To develop a steady service this will be reliable for the customers and maintain full service at working hours. To provide a good looking catalog and navigation to all the items and restaurants available in the service. Project Scope Providing Number user login Providing Number of restaurants Providing Functionalities to order custom car online User Registration Adding new Restaurants to the website Adding new Items to the website Adding new Categories to the website Providing functionality to add items to chart before ordering Showing the chart with the total price Listing items Listing categories Observation This technique is also a very useful method where the analysts himself visits the organization and observe their day to day operations with each department, how the current system works and go through the organization documents such as organization chart, reports, procedures etc. Going through these documents we can call as document reviewing. When doing observations we can get proper idea of the current system and understand the problems that the organization is facing and also as the analyst is observing the work of the organization himself, the important points which have been left in the interview will be gathered here. 3.2.2.3 Questionnaire Questionnaire is used to get the informationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s from a number of groups of people. This method can be very useful when trying to identify the overall opinions from number of users, employees etc. This method is very less time consuming because the questions are very easy to understand. Questionnaire includes two types. They are open ended and closed questionnaires. In open ended type the questions are asked with the optional answers thus making it easy to fill with less time consuming. The user or the employee has to just tic an optional answer from the list given in the questionnaire. But the Closed ended questionnaires are of the opposite way. In this type a free space will be provided under each question in order to write their own answers by the user or employee. Below is a sample questionnaire which I have prepared in order to get the feedback from the employees. Deliverables: Requirement Definition: At a time when the Internet is used in every aspect of our life this is a must for any business or organization to hire features a web-based system will provide. Major achievements have been achieved in the likes of efficiency and reliability making an online system for a business. Our system is geared to take maximum advantage of the features and advantages of a web-based system will provide. The newly proposed system will use online payments through reliable payment gateways which are recognized worldwide and are confident enough to handle large amounts of payments on a daily schedule. Users have the opportunity to see all the retail stores that are available on the service and can view the products classified in a manner by which users can add their desired item in the basket . When the client is satisfied with the items that were added to the bar and ready to make payments , users can now view selected items in the cart , if something goes wrong or users can rollback a nd empty cart start with new items, or can remove specific items from the tray and add new elements to the bar. A detailed report on the prices of items that are added to your cart to report is displayed in the tray. add products to your cart, he / she may now proceed to verify that the user must provide all the details of his / her and select the desired mode of payment. Once he / she gives details an administrator verify and confirm the order. And deliverers will seek and take the order and deliver it to the customers door . Literature review The service that we are going to start is a community service project where a third party is involved in delivering goods to the customers, it is in our highest priority to assure that deliveries are made in the least possible time, and make the customers satisfied. To achieve this the system will be well designed and will comply fully with HCI concepts and techniques. Without adhering to the concepts and techniques the website will have a very poor navigation and interface. The main functions of the website are several, but each role playing a major outcome in the future of the service. User friendly interface and navigation. Catalog of all the restaurants. Categorized and well-structured nesting of restaurants, categories and items. Good Ajax(Asynchronous Javascript and XML) functionality. Role based user management. Clean URLs. Payment gateway. Free takeaways for lucky winners. Shopping cart/tray Advertisement offers for advertisers. Our first priority when developing this system will be to make as simple as possible and design very elegant. The IT industry is evolving day by day, and to be ahead of the competition it is a must to adhere to the latest technologies and trends. Simplicity is key in modern web 2.0 websites, and we will be designing the website to that trend. We have intentionally left our flash animations because it has been left out now and the new replacement for flash is out which is HTML5. In the system HTML5 will be used heavily and its styling counterpart CSS3 will also be used. There is an administration which will be only accessible to the administrators of the website, because the website is developed with high security measures, we will be doing everything to keep the administration panel a secret and off-limits to the standard users of the website. If a standard user tries to get access to the admin panel he/she will get a friendly notice stating that ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not acc essible for him/her and will be redirected back to the homepage. As payments in the system are done online, it is top priority to keep the website as secure as possible, and if payment details are stored, it is a main target for hackers to penetrate into and steal. Therefore good security measures will be undertaken. Conclusion Page | 1

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Ancient Civilizations Ancient Mesopotamian Descent Essay

As long as there has been people living in communion with one another, there have been different set societies. Being a part of a society, however does not mean that community holds the technical definition of a civilization. In order for a society to also wear the title of civilization, it is necessary to develop a form of writing and a system to accompany it (McCants, 28) The first recorded of western civilizations to be established were those of Mesopotamian descent, located in the city-state of Sumer or what is now known as present day Iraq (Crawford, 73). In Sumer, this writing system, defining them as the first known civilization was known as cuneiform and has proved difficult to translate. The location of Sumer, found between the Tigris and Euphrates River, provided the civilization with the fertile soil needed in order for the Sumerians to begin to sustain themselves and flourish in society with a significant emphasis on agriculture (McCants, 28). Although the location of Sum er played an important factor into how the Sumerians lived their lives, it was the gods of Mesopotamia which carried the most influence. Therefore, the ancient Sumerians had to live a life based on appeasing the gods because of the imperative role of the god Enki and the role of humans have on Earth through giving the priesthoods an elevated role in society, practicing rituals for the gods, and living their lives based on a strict set of rules. The Sumerians worshiped many gods and each godShow MoreRelatedThe Sumerian Goddess Of Sexual Love And Warfare4034 Words   |  17 PagesMesopotamian theology defined the gods as rulers and human beings as their servants, with nature being an object to be managed for the profit and well being of both. Consequently, deity worship plays a significant role in both the daily and religious lives of the ancient population; the two are undeniably intertwined. One of the most important goddesses in the Mesopotamian pantheon, and the one with which this paper will be concerned, is Inana. As the Sumerian goddess of sexual love and warfare,Read MoreEssay on Comparison of Judaism and Islam1508 Words   |  7 Pagesthat these religions should share a common belief of creation and patriarchy, since the roots of these two are to be found in the basin of Mesopotamia, in the â€Å"Fertile Crescent† of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. There, in the ancient civilization of Sumeria, the descent of the Patriarchs of the Bible can be traced to an historical basis: â€Å"Abraham was probably born in the Sumerian City of Ur four thousand years ago a scholar invented a label for the descendents of Shem; he called them SemitesRead MoreWomen Of The Ancient Greek Work, The Iliad And The Mesopotamian Epic Of Gilgamesh2549 Words   |  11 PagesRoles of women in the ancient times have been generally been limited to household, childbearing, childrearing, performing domestic chores like cooking, weaving and providing comforts to their husbands and families. Many of the primitive societies were male dominated and women were considered inferior creature dependent on their male guardians throughout life. Historic accounts and epics of specific periods describe the role assigned to genders in those societies. 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While initially referring to the political dominance of certain ancient Greek city-states over their neighbors, the term has come to be used in a variety of other contexts, in particular Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramscis theory of cultural hegemony. The term is often mistakenly used to suggest brute power or dominanceRead Mor eWomen s Status Of Women2483 Words   |  10 PagesINTRODUCTION Throughout history and civilization women seem to have been in a constant state of evolution either towards a submissive role or a strong role but nonetheless, changing. This paper will discuss women from the lower and middle ranks in history and their status in the various civilizations. This paper argues that the status of lower and middle class women deteriorated over time and only the Paleolithic period seemed to comprise of a gender-neutral society. THE STATUS OF WOMEN OVERRead MoreOutline Of Major Depressive Disorder2556 Words   |  11 Pagesdocumentation of melancholia appeared in the ancient texts of the Mesopotamian population. It was then believed that all mental illness was a result of demonic possession and could only be healed by the power of a priest. It was not until much later that the first historical understanding of depression as a spiritual or mental illness was recorded. According to historical documentation, populations such as the ancient Greeks, Romans, Chinese and Egyptian civilizations had controversial thinking about the

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Asteroids vs. Comets Free Essays

Asteroids vs. Comets Spacecrafts have retrieved extraordinarily valuable information that has furthered the human race’s knowledge of what exists in outer space. However, spacecrafts and shuttles are extremely expensive to build and launch into space so they should be well taken care of. We will write a custom essay sample on Asteroids vs. Comets or any similar topic only for you Order Now Sending a spacecraft to an asteroid is far better and safer than sending a spacecraft to a comet for quite a few different reasons. First, an asteroid is made up of less materials than a comet. Next, comets produce two tails when approaching the Sun. Lastly, an asteroid’s orbit is much more predictable than a comet’s orbit. With these characteristics, asteroids make a better object for spacecrafts to land on rather than comets. A typical asteroid is made up of rock, metal, and iron. The iron causes asteroids to be rock solid with some loose piles of rubble. Comets consist of many different materials such as ice and dust. With less exposed materials, sending a spacecraft to an asteroid instead of a comet reduces unexpected obstacles with the comet’s atmospheric conditions. Having an atmosphere with high levels of water and dust can also make the spacecraft’s maneuvering difficult. An asteroid would be much more suitable for spacecraft maneuvering due to it’s rocky and dry shell. Comets produce two tails when they get closer to the Sun while asteroids produce no tails. These two tails consist of one white tail made of dust and another blue tail containing ionized gas. The Sun’s light creates radiation pressure and when mixed with solar wind, they push the dust and gas outward and away from the Sun thus creating the two tails. Exposing a spacecraft to these conditions can be very detrimental to the exterior and technology of the spacecraft. Which would be very counterproductive and could potentially destroy any evidence recorded. Asteroids, however, are basically big piles of rubble with craters. Spacecrafts would have a much easier time landing on an asteroid as opposed to a comet. Asteroids come from the inner solar system and have a very predictable orbit. All asteroids orbit between Mars and Jupiter in the â€Å"asteroid belt† around the Sun. Some comets may have a predictable orbit, however, there are many ways a comet may be knocked off course. Comets come from the outer solar system where other objects or even passing stars can cause the comet to have a different orbit. Having a more predictable orbit would make a spacecraft mission much easier to map and plan out. It costs around $300 million to send a spacecraft on a mission to space on an interplanetary mission. In this case, asteroids are much better for a spacecraft to take a mission to. Asteroids are made up of less materials that contribute to a dangerous climate which is much more suitable for a spacecraft to maneuver around on. Second, comets produce two tails containing dust and ionized gas which would make it difficult to land a spacecraft on. Last, asteroids have a very predictable orbit while comets can be harder to track and plan a mission to. Asteroids clearly have better qualities for a spacecraft to be sent to. How to cite Asteroids vs. Comets, Essay examples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Rudy Park Cartoon Analysis Essay Example For Students

Rudy Park Cartoon Analysis Essay The cartoon created by Rudy Park and published in the New York Times presents the issue of bosses not having to provide coverage of certain health care areas arguing that some health treatments can conflict with the religious views of employers, and thereby protecting freedom of religion. This analysis intends to show how the author makes a point through an imaginary absurd situation regarding the issue. The irony is seen in this ridiculousness, as a law that is meant to protect people’s rights ends up acting against the rights the worker in the cartoon. The creator uses humorous imagery and irony to show the readers how laws can be used as an excuse to avoid taking responsibility, and presents an argument against the law which allows employers not to cover birth control as part of the health care plans of their employees. In this cartoon, the employee asks his employer for permission to go to a supposed funeral which will take â€Å"exactly† half an hour. The word â€Å"exactly† used in this context catches the attention of the boss and begins to insinuate that the employee is speaking nonsense. The employee’s eyes appear wild on the second picture as he begins talking about the mythical Baldor and setting a dragon on fire. His hairstyle and plain black t-shirt suggest that he is a stereotypical nerd, which leads the employer to believe that he might be referring to a video game, and in this way Rudy Park uses imagery to portray the possibility of the worker not being insane. The employer, with an indifferent expression on her face, tells the man that she hopes he is talking about a video game. On the last picture, the employer’s expression is one of mischief, with a wide smile, as she states that she will not pay for her employee’s mental health care because it would go against her religious values and the Supreme Court backs her in this matter. On the same picture, the man demonstrates his mental instability by saying that he will make his pikemen wear black. The argument presented in this cartoon has to do with the debate of whether birth control should be paid for by employers or whether freedom of religion should prevail. The Supreme Court has ruled that employers are not obliged to provide birth control to workers if birth control goes against their religious views. But taking into account the fact that there is a great number of religions with different views on every issue, employers could use the ruling of the Supreme Court to their advantage and fail to provide coverage for their workers’ health care, as would be the case if an employee loses his mind and the employer’s religion disapproves of psychiatry. This scenario shown on the cartoon is ironic because by trying to protect freedom of religion the law is undermining the right to proper healthcare. The cartoonist uses facial expressions on the characters to illustrate the situation behind their words. The employee’s wide open eyes are a symbol of madness, and coupled with the growing insanity of his words there is no room for doubt left that he needs psychiatric care. The employee’s attitude is depicted in her nonchalant face first, showing how she is not worried at all about the worker’s mental instability, because she has the tranquility of knowing that she does not have to take responsibility for this matter. Later, her cunning grin shows how she is taking pleasure in her situation of comfort provided by the Supreme Court. This cartoon is an allegory of how absurdly people can twist this particular Supreme Court’s ruling, and uses symbols and humor to make its point. .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939 , .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939 .postImageUrl , .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939 , .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939:hover , .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939:visited , .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939:active { border:0!important; } .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939:active , .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939 .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uaeb48b1b3e3f0fef1307c21e5548d939:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: An Analysis Of The Poem Aids To The Wind EssayBibliography: Uclick Darrin Bell and Theron Heir. â€Å"Cartoons†. New York Times. Universal, 2014. Web. 23 July 2014. http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/rk/

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Homophobia is Gay Essays - Gender Studies, Prejudices,

While society has progressed overtime in a way to make all people feel equal and acceptable, the social order is yet to make homosexuals feel accepted in their community; therefore, homophobia has had an enormous negative impact on all citizens today. ?For example, many LGBT people have become homeless as a result of being rejected by their families after revealing their sexual orientation. In the US, between 20 and 40 percent of young homeless people are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.? Despite the issue?s intricacy, there are some possible solutions to decrease the effect of homophobia on humanity. Homophobia can be defined in many ways. ?[It] is generally defined as hostility towards or fear of gay people, but can also refer to social ideologies which stigmatize homosexuality.? There are two different levels of homophobia: internal and external. Internal has to do with prejudices that people include in their beliefs as they grow in places biased against gays and lesbians. External has to do with the expression of the biases. There are many things that influence homophobia. ?There are many factors that can cause a person to be homophobic. Research has shown that prejudice against gay people and homosexuality can be influenced by the person: Having strong religious beliefs that disapprove of sex and/or homosexuality, having little to no social contact with lesbian and gay people, Reporting no homosexual experiences or feelings.? There are many religions that discourage homosexual relations and foster homophobia. ?When you?re scared, especially of something you actually know noth ing about, hatred is a natural reaction.? Homophobia comes a lot from not knowing or understanding much about homosexuality. ?In a 2010 public opinion poll, 43 percent of Americans who participated believed that gay and lesbian relationships are morally wrong.? The ?traditional family? is made up of a man and a woman with the ability to reproduce. Many things influence homophobia including beliefs, lack of knowledge, or just plain fear. In addition, homophobia impacts society in many ways, but in general it hurts people. For instance, ?every year gay and lesbian people as well as people who are simply perceived to be gay or lesbian are teased, harassed, raped, beaten, or killed? (Bullough). Bisexuals, transgendered, and straight allies are also subject to this kind of treatment. Also, ?a few studies? have revealed slightly higher lifetime rates of depression, attempted suicide, psychological help seeking, and substance abuse (Cabaj, Nemrow, O?Hanlan, Robertson, Schatz). This physical harm is also causing psychological harm. However ?people suffering from homophobia also limit their scope of association and may have dangerously rigid gender role expectations of themselves and others.? People suffering from that don?t see any other views but their own. While physical harm caused by anti-gay violence is immediately obvious, psychological and emotional injury can also occur. These include post-traumatic stress and chron ic pain syndromes, phobias, eating disorders, and most commonly, depression.? There?s a lot that comes with homophobia that many do not stop to think or realize. Homophobia hurts people whether they are homosexual or heterosexual. In addition, ?Homophobia?, the term, was found in 1967. ?The term homophobia was coined by George Weinberg, a psychotherapist, and self-identified heterosexual? (Bullough). ?The initial classification of homosexuality [is] a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual which defies the statement that being homosexual is a choice. Those feelings are there. It is in the brain. It?s not a choice to be a homosexual, however, it is a choice whether to act upon those feelings or not. ?Children, sometimes as young as two to eight years old? experience homosexual feelings? (Cabaj, Nemrow, O?Hanlan, Robertson, Schatz). It doesn?t matter how old you are; homosexual feelings can occur any point in life. A possible solution would be getting families to accept their homosexual family members. ?It is hypothesized that positive parental communication and support?will moderate the association between experiencing homophobic teasing and psychological outcomes for students who are sexually questioning and [lesbian, gay, and bisexual] students? (Koenig 205). ?Parents who accept and advocate for their non-heterosexual teens may be protecting them from depression and ill health as adults, suggests a new study on families with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) children? (Jeanna Bryner). ?For the first time, researchers have established a clear link

Monday, November 25, 2019

Reflections on AngloSaxon Life essays

Reflections on AngloSaxon Life essays The Anglo-Saxons set the foundations on which the English nation developed. In spite of continual internal warfare, they built upon those foundations and developed a high degree of civilization. In Beowulf, Burton Raffel portrays many aspects of Anglo-Saxon lifestyle, especially the importance of weaponry, women's role in society, and the significance of Christianity. There was not a single object that mattered to Anglo-Saxons more than their weapons. The Anglo-Saxons "delighted in beautiful weapons" (Crossley-Holland 19). They associated usefulness with beauty. Anglo-Saxons decorated their swords with ornamental patterning. These warlike people considered the sword to be the "king of weapons" (Crossley-Holland 20). The gift of a sword was a symbol of the bond between a lord and his follower. Warriors remained "prepared behind [their] high shield" (Raffel 35). Shields were the most common forms of defense. They decorated the shields as well, which declared the wealth of its owner. It was an Anglo-Saxon warrior's practice to be ready for battle incessantly. Women had a well-defined role in Anglo-Saxon society. A thane's wife had responsibilities that she fulfilled on a daily basis. Her primary chores consisted of looking after the family and supervising the household. Other duties included overseeing the brewing of ale, and managing the weaving and dyeing of clothing for her family. She had a public persona, such as when "Welthow went from warrior to warrior, pouring a portion from the jeweled cup for each" (Raffel 24). Presumably, a thane's wife was the mistress of ceremonies in the mead halls. Women also had their own rights that were "quite independent of [their] husbands" (Crossley-Holland 68). A woman had the right to own land, defend herself in court, to inherit money, and use it at her own discretion. The role of women in that time period was truly extraordinary. Christianity was also an aspect of Angl...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Honoring Nursing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Honoring Nursing - Assignment Example   Furthermore, they have to work on weekends, nights, holidays, giving them very little time to bring up their children or relate to their families. Dealing with sick people who are sometimes very violent together with the lonely environment has made nursing profession very persevering. This has called for the need to honoring nurses, since they are very kind and caring, and do their work with passion despite the dangers that they are exposed to. Interview The elements of therapeutic communication that I utilized are being realistic in my relationship with the interviewee. That is, avoiding judging or making assumptions about her behavior and that of the patients who were around, by allowing their personal identity. The other element was being emotionally mature in postponing satisfaction of my own personal needs in deference to those of the interviewee, by finding other sources to meet my needs, other than therapeutic relationships. The adaptations that were made to the communicat ion style to accommodate sensory deficits with the interviewee were speaking very closely to the nurse to ensure that she gets everything. Additionally, communication had to be in low tone to avoid disturbing the patients who need to rest. Since the nurse was on duty, I had to follow her to various work stations to avoid shouting as well as ensuring that he hears and answers each of my questions well. To establish the foundation for helping the relationship in which the interviewee feels comfortable in sharing, I first greeted the nurse, introduced myself, my names, name of my learning institution and my aim of interviewing her. I also asked her if she could mind helping interview her. All along, I had to look and be very friendly to her to create a friendly environment that could help in cooperation. The technique used to elicit professionalism was first to inform the nurse that the information she was going to give would be confidentially treated and therefore, it could not have a ny negative effects on his profession and career. To effectively start the interview, I started telling her about my experience, ambitions, and what I think about nursing as a nursing student. After this, she was eager to tell me the truth on areas of my deficits and where I had excessive hopes as a nursing student. This created a very conducive environment for me dig further into everything that I wanted to know. She became very eager to make everything very clear to me, so that I could know the reality in order to be well prepared (mentally, physically and psychologically) when my time comes. Entering into professional-student discussion with a current nurse in the interview role can be an intimidating experience. Maintaining professionalism at all times made me keep focused during the interview. As a student nurse, I ensure professionalism at all times my first of all ensuring that I was dressed like a nurse, low heeled shoes, and nursing students’ uniform. During the inte rview, I ensured that I did not ask any question that could give information related to a particular patient or person.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Assessment of drug Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Assessment of drug - Essay Example each year in interdiction efforts. Nevertheless, in 2004, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reported about 166,000 heroin users in the United States, out of more than 19 million people age 12 and over who reported using an illicit drug within the past month (SAMSHA report, section 1.4). Chronic heroin users may resort to stealing, prostitution and other crimes to pay for their habit. New users turn to snorting and smoking the drug, giving them less of a high but also carrying less of a stigma and avoiding the telltale track marks. The tenacity of heroin's hold on humanity begs the question: Would the United States be better off if heroin -- or some form of poppy-derived opiate -- were legalized Would it be best to let the government, or approved non-governmental organizations and charities, handle maintenance and long-term treatment of heroin users, with the goal of curing them of their addiction The experience in other countries, coupled with medical evidence, shows that it is certainly worth exploring some form of legalization that removes the criminal profit motive and focuses on reducing demand for drugs by treating drug use as a public health concern, rather than a crime. Since Richard Nixon declared war on drugs in 1973, the United States has spent billions in a losing cause trying to eradicate the use of â€Å"illegal† drugs in America. For the 2007 fiscal year alone, the Bush administration requested $12.7 billion for federal drug control efforts (National Drug Control Strategy, 2006, 1), a figure that doesn’t begin to cover state and local law enforcement, court, prison and health care costs, or more esoteric costs such as lost productivity in the workforce. This paper focuses on the potential benefits and risks of partial legalization of heroin -- which, along with cocaine, particularly crack cocaine, probably faces the highest stigma of all illicit drugs. However, the same problems that make heroin so reviled, including its addictiveness and potential for harming the user, are what make heroin an ideal test case for "controlled legalization" along a medical/public health model. Rather than continuing to fight a war that cannot be w on, the United States should beat a strategic retreat -- and seek a true victory elsewhere, looking to actually solve the problem by acknowledging the medical and psychological reasons for drug use in the first place. Then, the nation could focus on addressing those issues head on, without apology, and with an eye on continuous improvement for the betterment of its citizens and communities. Legalization in any form is seen by many as a moral failure. The thinking is, if something is "wrong," it is wrong not to stop it or outlaw it. It has proven difficult, however, in almost a century of legislation, to curtail the use of drugs like heroin, cocaine and marijuana. Instead, the laws have created a pervasive and profitable black market controlled by criminals, who pocket the cash while the American taxpayer foots the bill. Legalization in some form, with the intent of controlling demand, could go a long way toward eliminating criminal trafficking, deaths and overdoses due to impure/too pure product and the spread of deadly diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis. Refocusing heroin as a sign of a medical condition, not a criminal or moral failing, would bring users into treatment where they

Monday, November 18, 2019

Macroeconomic Stock Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Macroeconomic Stock Project - Essay Example he period of investment is just over a few months so for the portfolio to get a suitable yield, numerous purchases and selling of different stock are done on daily basis or within a short time period within a week. For example, the purchase of 1363 SouFun Holding (SFUN) share at $74.28 on 2/24/14 leads to a total sale of the same shares on 2/26/14 at $76.31. Essentially a capital gain of $2.03 per share is made in the process. Hence the strategy of buy low and sell when high works in this scenario. The various stocks mentioned above helps in portfolio diversification by reducing the specific risks of each stock invested. Investment in XUE stocks was stable at $5.79 hence no gain was realized on this particular stock. This can be accounted by very little business acquisition and activity by this company during this period during the trading period. Vipshops holdings (VIPS), however, is bullish, Goldman Sachs involvement in upgrading this company’s business activity has elevated the share price. Weibo Hu analysis has projected a market growth of 0.5% in VIPS apparel subsidiary in China and the credibility of the company signifies potential positive growth in the future. If the portfolio had stocks that had their prices rarely fluctuating within the two days of trading, the trading position is closed. The same was done for stocks that were making capital gains. Just like any real diversified investment portfolio, the well performing stocks like VIPS and SFUN offset the short term capital loses made by bearish stocks like XUE (Xuenda Education) and CCIH (China Cache International). Above is CCIH (China Cache International Holdings) share price being bearish over a three month period of trading. This led to slight losses in the portfolio considering the shares were never held longer than a week. ZEN (Zendek incorporation) stock price rose substantially after the initial public offering. The share traded above the $10 mark, but this portfolio however did not

Friday, November 15, 2019

Discharge Plans: a Case Study

Discharge Plans: a Case Study It may come as a shock to caretakers of the patient that discharge planning may commence as soon as a patient has been admitted. This does not necessarily mean that the patient is being released for home, but rather it means that plans are being put in place for a successful discharge plan to take place. Information is gathered about the patient, how they live, for example, do they live with others, are they dependent or independent (Birjandi Bragg 2009). Caretakers are actively involved in a discharge plan provided the patient gives consent. Once the patient shows improvement, it is clear that further recovery in a hospital set-up is not likely to take place and thus they are sent to an environment they may adopt to their needs; their home. Birjandi, A Bragg, (2009) say that discharge planning is essential and should be done right, whether the discharge is to a rehabilitation center, a nursing home or the client’s home. Medical practitioners should have an ideal discharge plan as studies have shown that improvement in hospital discharges with great outcomes when appropriate discharge plans are made. Healthcare givers, family members and patients themselves have a great role to play after discharge in maintaining good health. Even though discharge planning is essential in patients health there is inconsistence in both the discharge process and the quality of discharge planning in most of the health care system. In this paper, we shall look at a discharge plan for a client with the cerebral vascular accident from hospital to their home. We shall look at initial assessment of the client at the time of admission; determine the possible discharge needs, family involvement in decision making and how to transport the client to their destination. Birjandi, A Bragg, L. (2009) describe discharge planning as a method used to decide the requirements of a patient as they shift from one level of care to another, only doctors may approve patients release from a health facility, but the actual discharge plan may be done by a nurse, case manager, case manager. Complicated conditions such as cerebral vascular accident may have a team approach. Well organized discharge planning may reduce the chances of re-hospitalization and aid in recovery; ensure medications are well prescribed and administered correctly. In general a discharge plan should involve the following; evaluation of the client by qualified practitioner, discussion with both the client and the caregiver, planning of the transfer process and homecoming of the client, determining whether the caretaker needs more training or any other kind of support, referral to support an organization or care agency and finally arranging for follow up activities. In our case we shall look at Ms. Kate a 76 year-old female who was admitted from the emergency department with a diagnosis of Right Cerebra Vascular Accident. Her Past Medical History includes: hyperlipidemia, hypertension, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis. Neurological: left-sided weakness for the past 2 days, awake, alert, and oriented to person, place, and time. Denied swallowing difficulties, no visual defects and denied pain. Medications: Aspirin 81mg per oral daily; Tylenol 650mg per oral when necessary for pain; Cerebral vascular and pulmonary: Placed on a cardiac monitor, findings indicated normal sinus rhythm. Vital signs taken every 4 hours, pulse 82; blood pressure 168/64; respirations 20. Lung sounds were clear to auscultation bilaterally. Oxygen Saturation on room air 97%. Gastrointestinal: Abdomen soft, non-tender, not distended, positive bowel sounds. Bowel movement present Genitourinary: Voids freely, requiring assistance to the bathroom. Output approximately 1000ml/day. Brief episode of dysuria on admission. Integumentary: skin intact, no lesions noticed Musculoskeletal: Active range of motion right side; limited range of motion on the left side; required assistant to get into a wheelchair. History of recent balance problems. Psychosocial: lives with daughter in a two story home; occupation: retired teacher Discharge needs were discussed with the caretaker, these included the physical condition of the family before and after hospitalization, the details of the kind of care required by the client were discussed, included information of the patients prognosis, what activities she might need to help with; information about the clients medication and diet should be given, any extra equipment that was deemed necessary such as wheelchair, oxygen and who will be in charge of the clients meal preparation, transport to referrals and support groups. The daughter who lives with Mr. Kate was involved in the discharge process, her ability and willingness to provide care to her mother was assessed, and the results were as follows; she felt it was too early for her discharge, as she did not have time to spare to take care of her mother as her work was demanding. She also had concerns about she would go about transporting her mother from the bed to her chair and taking her to the bathroom. She was referred to help agencies that assist in taking care of patients at their homes at a paid fee. Several agency information was availed to her, with instructions to come up with a decision on which one to use. She was also given a choice to hire an individual at a fee or hire nurses or case managers or other persons familiar with the condition. Ambulance services were given as an option to transport the patient to their home at a small fee at the time of discharge or the client may use assisted transport to their homes, wheelchair or stretchers were suggested be used for our client as she could walk with assistance. This was done in advance and the patient was fully responsible for this kind of transport arrangement. Discharge planning varies according to the hospital set up and the person who initiates it, and what kind of follow-up is needed, and whether the care takers are assessed for their ability to cater for the client’s needs. The transition of care and discharge planning all centered on improving the quality of care administered to a client, for example, education the care givers and training them on the conditions of their patients, encouraging preventive care and including caretakers to be part of the health care team. Simple steps such as exchanging patient’s progress regularly with the doctors or the health team increase the chances of effective follow up care. Telephone conversions, post discharge with doctors also helps to anticipate problems and improve care at home. Corey, G., Corey, M., Callanan, P. (2003) suggest that relative to discharge planning with some patient, there may be underlying issues that contribute to ethical dilemmas. As case managers, we should take reasonable steps to safeguard the interests and rights of those clients. Ethical dilemma occurs when an individual has to choose between two or more conflicting ethical standards. There is no one right answer and there is no easy answer! Codes of ethics provide guidelines, but don’t necessarily tell us what to do. Using a hierarchical ethical decision-making approach can help you achieve an acceptable resolution. Mattison, (2000) reminds us that utilizing an ethical decision-making model doesn’t result in bias-free decisions. Our values still come into play utilizing an ethical decision-making model and we may not be aware of it! First of all, it is important to remember clients’ rights to self determination and autonomy clients have the right to make poor de cisions. However, the role of the case manager is different in this situation depending on the client’s cognitive capacity for decision making. If the client has capacity, the focus is on ensuring the client is making an informed decision and reassuring the care team, which includes the family, about resources to maximize safety. If the client does not have capacity, the focus is identifying someone who can act on the client’s behalf and exploring alternatives for creating a safe discharge in respect of the client’s wishes. For the client When the care team perceives discharge unsafe; Promote informed consent this involves educating the client about the team’s concerns related to his or her safety and potential consequences associated with an unsafe discharge. Review and encourage the use of resources to maximize safety, this involves identifying the services the client will need in a lesser care environment for the discharge to be successful. For the care team May not be aware of resources available to enable older adults to live safely in their own homes; reviewing these resources can eliminate concerns. May be worried about remote dangers that should not trump client autonomy and self determination, i.e. â€Å"If there was a fire, he would have difficulty escaping.† When the care giver does not appear able to provide care. Sometimes family members or other caregivers wish to care for a client in a lesser care environment, but there are concerns about their ability to do so. In this situation, family/caregiver education is an important intervention. When the caregiver does not seem able to provide care; Approaches to family/caregiver education: Convene a team conference with them to review the client’s level of care and specific care needs. Have the individual assume full responsibility for care for a period of time while in a safe environment (i.e. Work a 4-hour shift as his/her loved one’s caregiver in the nursing home so he/she is fully informed of what to expect in terms of career. Often this will result in the family member realizing for themselves that the care is too much and they will either not be able to do it or will need to have outside support. Alternatively, sometimes family members will actually do well, relieving the team’s fears about their ability. Try a short trial visit in the lesser care environment, say 24-48 hours, with a planned return to the higher care setting to debrief re: problems encountered. When a client or caretaker refuses necessary service; again, it is important to remember clients’ rights to self determination and autonomy clients have the right to make poor decisions. However, sometimes what seems to be a â€Å"poor† decision is based on misinformation or other concerns; it is important for case managers to explore factors contributing to the refusal of services deemed necessary by the care team. Potential factors contributing to service refusal; Cost; sometimes clients and their families don’t feel recommended services are (or will be) affordable. Have referred agency review associated costs with them; sometimes services are not as much as anticipated. Assist client/family to access sources of financial support such as Medicaid. Reframe costs as in terms of future savings, i.e. Paying a little for care now will prevent costly hospitalizations in the future. Discomfort with the thought of strangers in the home. Validate this concern; it is un comfortable having unfamiliar people help with intimate tasks in one’s private domain. Arrange for client/family to meet potential service providers ahead of time to minimize anxiety. Additional factors potentially contributing to service refusal; misunderstandings regarding the purpose of recommended services. Feelings of guilt or shame related to not being able to provide all care independently. Recommended services don’t fit client/family’s cultural belief system. Past negative experiences with similar services Caretaker unwilling to have client return home; this is one of the most heart-wrenching ethical dilemmas to deal with and can bring up many issues of counter-transference; good self-care and supervision is important. Things to keep in mind; Client has a right to return to his or her own home, caretaker has a right not to provide care if this is something he or she is uncomfortable with, There may be a history of domestic violence or other traumatic relationship issues contributing to spouse/partner’s reluctance, Spouse/partner may be unaware of support services available to assist with care management and that the Client may be at risk for elder abuse. For clients with capacity, living environments deemed â€Å"unsafe† may simply represent differences in lifestyle choices between client and the care team. For example, client’s home is cluttered, smells like cats, and there are dirty dishes and dust everywhere, but is not actually hazardous in any way. Case manager’s role: advocate for clients and educate them, offer services to assist client with home management. If home is in disrepair, infested with rats, covered with mold and rotting garbage hazardous situation indicative of deeper problems. Case manager’s role: further assessment regarding client’s capacity and whether interventions can make home livable; recognize that sometimes it is just not possible for clients to return home We may conclude by stating that effective discharge planning and transitional care have real benefit in improving the out-come of a patient and bringing down the rate of re-hospitalization of the same patients. Reference Birjandi, A., Bragg, L. (2009). Discharge planning handbook for health care: Top 10 secrets to unlocking a new revenue pipeline. Boca Raton: CRC Press. Corey, G., Corey, M., Callanan, P. (2003). Issues and ethics in the helping professions, 6th edition. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Mattison, M. (2000). Ethical decision-making: The person in the process. Social Work, 45 (3), 201-212. The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck | Analysis The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck | Analysis Jan van Eyck. The Arnolfini Portrait. Jan van Eyck The Portrait of Giovanni (?) Arnolfini and his Wife Giovanna Cenami (?) (The Arnolfini Marriage). 1434. Oil in oak. 81.8 x 59.7 cm. The National Gallery, London. The Arnolfini Portrait startles us by its apparent realism and attention to detail, which seem to anticipate Dutch painting of two centuries later. Much of the effect is owing to van Eyck’s use of oil-based paints. He is often called the inventor of oil painting, though it seems more likely that he and his brother discovered the potential of the new medium by developing a varnish which dried at a consistent rate, allowing Jan to â€Å"make a glossy colour which could be applied in transparent layers or ‘glazes’†¦ and put on the glittering highlights with a pointed brush† (Gombrich, 240). The new medium was miraculous in its suitability for depicting metals and jewels (as well as the individual strands of hair in a dog’s coat!), and, as Sister Wendy Beckett says, â€Å"more significantly, for the vivid, convincing depiction of natural light† (Beckett, 64). Equally original is the setting and milieu, for this is a â€Å"bourgeois commissio n† (Levey, 68), set not in a palace or a church but in a room in an ordinary house, every detail of which is depicted with total accuracy and naturalism, and shown, as Sir Kenneth Clark noted, â€Å"by a miracle that defies the laws of art-history†¦ enveloped in daylight as close to experience as if it had been observed by Vermeer of Delft† (Clark, 104). Despite the naturalism of the scene, it is likely that the objects depicted are rich in symbolic meaning. The couple stand in a room, shown with precise concern for perspective – Levy calls it a â€Å"perspective cube† (Levey, 68). They are dressed very richly, and stand in poses that suggest ceremony and serious purpose, hence the supposition that we are witnessing a marriage – as van Eyck is doing quite literally. He can be seen with another witness reflected in the convex mirror on the wall, i.e. standing at the point from which the perspective view runs, and he has left his signature above the mirror, in a legal Gothic script, saying that he â€Å"was here† (â€Å"only a moment ago, one might think† (Huizinga, 259)), not just that he painted this. The couple stand apart, as if separated by ceremonial considerations. He takes her right hand in his left, and raises his right as if to complete a vow or pledge. She has a shy expression, while he is earnest and solemn. His dress is sumptuous and expensive, hers is lavish and modest, in green, â€Å"the colour of affection† (Baldass, 76). If this is the holy sacrament of marriage, to complete its validity there should be consummation, which is why we are in a bedroom. In other parts of the room are objects painted with scrupulous accuracy, which at the same time have an iconographic purpose which is relevant to the ritual of marriage. The little dog is a symbol of fidelity. The shoes cast aside show that the couple stand unshod â€Å"since this is the ground of a holy union† (Beckett, 64). The fruit on the window sill are either a reference to fertility or a reminder of the fatal apple. The single candle flame in the magnificently rendered candelabra – a light which is not necessary for illumination – suggests the eye of God. Carved on the chair back is an image of St Margaret, a saint associated with childbirth, and the arms of the chair and the prie-dieu are decorated with the lions of the throne of Solomon. Most spectacular of all is the painting of the mirror, which with its convex shape reflects back the whole interior, together with the image of the painter and another man. Its frame is decorated with ten medallions show ing events from the life of Christ, â€Å"intended to emphasise that the Original Sin is atoned for by the Passion of Christ† (Baldass, 75). To emphasise the symbolic meanings of the objects in the painting (of which we cannot always be certain) is by no means to detract from the astonishing realism of the scene. The van Eycks began their careers as manuscript illustrators, and the concern for detail is apparent everywhere. The dog is intensely real, charming, and of no identifiable breed. The texture of materials is rendered in the finest detail, in the gilding of the candelabra and the way the light catches it, the glint of the beads in the rosary hanging by the mirror, and of course the glass of the mirror itself, and its concave shape giving a curved reflection of the room. The light is caught precisely on the inward curve of the medallion roundels in the frame. The presentation of the clothing is meticulous, both in the texture of the cloth and in the way it hangs on the body. Even the grain of the wood in the floorboards is exact. Colour too is handled with great subtlety, the green of her dress, with traces of blue in the undersleeves, set off against the rich red of the bed hangings, both lit by the single source of light, the window to the left. It is as if â€Å"a simple corner of the real world has suddenly been fixed on to a panel as if by magic† (Gombrich, 243). Huizinga makes a point related to this concern for total realism, that it is immensely valuable for us to see a late medieval artist depicting private life, and not bound by the requirements of the court or the Church. â€Å"The Master†¦ need not portray the majesty of divine beings nor minister to aristocratic pride† (Huizinga, 258). Van Eyck’s Gothic signature and declaration on the wall suggests that the whole piece might be a sort of legal act of witnessing. The whole conception marks the shift from the medieval to the modern world, because the witnessing is literally established for us through the precise application of the rules of perspective. The scene is viewed through the eyes of the man reflected in the mirror, and it is the view of the single observer which is to form the convention of painting from van Eyck until the end of the nineteenth century. In the Arnolfini portrait â€Å"the artist became the perfect eye-witness in the truest sense of the term † (Gombrich, 243). Works Cited Baldass, L. Jan Van Eyck. London: Phaidon, 1952. Beckett, Sister Wendy. The Story of Painting. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1994. Clark, K. Civilisation. A Personal View. London: BBC, 1969. Gombrich, E.H. The Story of Art. London: Pahidon, 1995. Huizinga, J. The Waning of the Middle Ages. New York: Anchor, 1949. Levey, M. From Giotto to Cezanne. London: Thames and Hudson, 1962.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Lead And The Environment :: essays research papers

Lead and The Environment Some materials are so commonplace that we take them for granted. One of those materials is a grayish metal that has been with us for thousands of years. That metal is lead, still one of the world's most useful substances, and one that never ceases to find a role in human society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lead has the atomic symbol of Pb (for plumbum, lead in Latin). The atomic number for lead is 82 and the atomic mass is 207.19 AMU. It melts at about 327.502 oC and boils at 1740 oC. Lead is a heavy, ductile, soft, gray solid. It is soluble in nitric acid and insoluble in water. It is found in North, Central and South America, Australia, Africa and Europe. In modern times, lead has found a wide range of uses, and world demand for lead and its products has steadily increased. Lead's usefulness stems from the metal's many desirable properties: softness, high density, low melting point, ability to block radiation, resistance to corrosion, readiness to form alloys and chemical compounds, and ease of recycling. Its versatility, as well as its physical and chemical properties, accounted for its extensive use. Lead can be rolled into sheets which can be made into rods and pipes. It can also be molded into containers and mixed with other metallic elements.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lead was used in ancient times for making coinage, art objects and water pipes. One of the first known toxic substances, lead was used by the Romans for lining aqueducts and in glazes on containers used for food and wine storage; and it is suspected to have resulted in widespread lead poisoning. Members of the famous Franklin Expedition to the Northwest Passage in the mid-1840s met a similar fate, being poisoned from lead in solder, widely used at the time to seal tins used to store foods. Until recently, one of the most significant uses was an anti-knock additive in gasoline. In the 1970s and 1980s, steps were taken to reduce the use of leaded gas. By 1990, these actions had virtually eliminated the use of lead in gasoline. Lead is also one of the best and earliest examples of recycling about 55 percent of the lead used in Canada comes from recycled material.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One particular category of toxic tort is injury caused by exposure to lead-based paint. The hazards of lead-based paint have been known since the early 1900s, when the use of lead in the manufacture of paint was banned in Australia. The lead mining and lead pigment industries in the United States were able, however, to forestall the banning the use of lead in the manufacture of

Monday, November 11, 2019

Roman Empire and Nero

Explain the role and contribution of Seneca to the reign of Nero Seneca was the personal advisor of Nero during his reign. He was a stoic philosopher who played a vital role in the running of the empire. Seneca contributed in many aspects of Nero’s reign by introducing reforms, bringing stoicism into practice and playing a key role in the senate. Seneca aided in important decision-making. He led Nero down an appropriate path, particularly when Nero became extremely erratic. He served Nero well and made an excellent contribution during his reign.Seneca understood the problems of Rome so he was able to introduce reforms, which benefited the people. He made conditions for slaves more humane, introduced fiscal reform and introduced a more enlightened administration in Britain. This positively contributed to the empire as he had the happiness of the people in his best interest. By introducing reforms that pleased the people he gained popularity for both himself and Nero. This was b eneficial for Nero as the people of the empire could look back on Nero’s reign years later and reflect on the good decisions and excellent reforms that had taken place during the period.Tacitus says â€Å"Nothing in human affairs is more unstable and precarious than power unsupported by its own strength. † This quote by Tacitus shows us just how great the impact of Seneca was. It is telling us that without Seneca, Nero may have had the power, but had no support to advice him to make the correct decisions. Seneca was the strength to Nero’s power. Seneca composed Nero’s first speech to the senate. This speech offered additional power to the senate and shows that Seneca was contributing to the reign of Nero right from the very start.The speech also promised to return to what life had been like under Augustus. Of course, the empire was considered a Republic during the Augustan period and the people cherished this time. Seneca and Nero were looked upon favoura bly when they promised to return to a time of happiness. Therefore Seneca helped encourage an excellent start to the reign of Nero. Stoicism influenced the writing of Seneca for Nero as he wrote â€Å"on clemency† which encouraged Nero to rule leniently. Stoicism is particularly shown as he writes â€Å"†¦worthy to do the ork of the gods upon the earth† It is known that the Roman’s were very religious, so to do the work of the gods would be seen as ethically and morally right to Seneca. These traits are one of the beliefs of Stoicism, reflecting his influence. This contributed to Nero’s reign as it meant that Nero came across as a self-controlled, morally right stoic man who would run the empire leniently and satisfy the people of Rome. Satisfied Romans meant that they would continue to give their support to Nero during his reign. Seneca worked efficiently with the senate allowing Nero to remain popular within the senate.A key role that Seneca played was to ensure that the Neronian government had good relations with the senate. He did this very effectively. This was an excellent contribution to his reign as it allowed Nero to remain popular within the senate, as well as with the people. Remaining popular among Rome meant that he had the support of its people and could continue to rule effectively with Seneca by his side. Seneca’s influence was particularly shown as he wrote the speech Nero gave where he declared his administration for the senate and his desire that they resume their ancient function.Seneca’s successful speeches helped contribute to the healthy relationship between Nero and the senate as he told them what they wanted to hear. He also issues coins, which were a further indicator of the good relations between Nero and the senate. Credit for this successful relationship must go to Seneca who put the words into Nero’s mouth and was able to satisfy the senate by giving them what they wanted. A co operating senate meant that the empire was able to run much better during Nero’s reign.Further on in Nero’s reign, Seneca began to see a change. He grew more erratic and extreme. From here it became the role of Seneca to curb his enthusiasm. Tacitus describes this job as â€Å"To direct his deviations from virtue into licensed channels of indulgence. † The shows that Seneca fulfilled his job by avoiding activities that would result in scandal. Nero’s frustration grew out of many of his liberal ideas failing and it was the role of Seneca to alert Nero about his policies if they were ineffective or bad policy.Although Seneca was unable to change the personality of Nero and his behaviour, he was able to contribute to the outcome of his actions. Seneca benefited the empire by avoiding decisions, which would consequence in revealing Nero’s awful erratic side. This benefited the empire in that Nero was still able to be favoured as the Romans did not see the worst of his erratic and extreme personality, as well as stopping Nero from making rash decisions that would not help his reign by informing him when policies or ideas were not recommended.Seneca’s contribution was beneficial for all aspects of Nero’s reign. He was able to advise Nero on important decision-making and was able to put a stop to Nero introducing policies and ideas that would not benefit his reign. Seneca provided a voice for Nero and was able to tell the Roman people wanted to hear and in turn earned their support. Seneca’s introduction of new policies and creating of stoicism contributed further to increasing the success of the empire, as well as the success of Nero.Seneca provided the strength to Nero’s power and without his contribution the reign of Nero would not have been as delightful. Seneca was able to make people dream of a â€Å"Republic† which further forced their support onto Nero. He also played a role in creating and maintaining a healthy relationship with the senate so that through Nero’s reign they were able to run the empire in collaboration. The role and contribution of Seneca was vital to the success of Nero, he acted as an excellent advisor to the emperor, particularly through giving a stoic voice to Nero.

Friday, November 8, 2019

5 Steps To Make Your Freelance Clients Love Your Writing

5 Steps To Make Your Freelance Clients Love Your Writing The best way to make sure your freelance clients love your writing is to write top-notch copy. That much is true. As a professional writer, your skills are your main concern. But there is more to great copy when it comes to getting clients to love what youve done for them. You need to perfect the entire client process so that the experience of hiring you is as excellent as the work you produce. A bad experience can muddy up great final copy. So how do you get your freelance clients to love your work? 1. Ask Freelance Clients Questions Up Front Asking the right questions up front is the only way both you and the client will be clear on whats needed, whats possible, and what will happen. Desperation for work often causes us to not want to rock the boat with too many questions, and so we eagerly say yes to put on a facade of confidence and grab the job. And thats where the trouble starts. You either dont have enough information to do the job right, or you have to keep going back to the client to get that information you should have gotten in the first place. That isnt going to paint a professional image of who you are and how you work. Even if your final product is amazing, youve colored the experience for your client. Make a spreadsheet to track specifics for each freelance job. Questions at the beginning are best. Even if you have a lot. Find out the specifics, such as how many words the client expects, and when they want the completed project. Find out the background on the project. Perhaps you didnt know this client prefers interviews as part of the research process. And, dig deep to find the less obvious things the client may not think to tell you. They might assume you already know. Research the clients publication or blog to find out what kind of writing has been used in the past, and make notes of tone, style, and content. Know exactly what the client wants; they will appreciate your concern and professionalism as you ask pertinent questions. And they will love the result all the more. Ask all questions up front to keep the #FreelanceWriting experience from being ugly.2. Write In Your Strengths If Possible Youll be more enthusiastic if you write about topics you are knowledgeable, comfortable, and enjoy. Clearly, you cant always get projects that fit this definition, but make an effort to pursue and retain those that do. When you write about the things you love, you have already done the research. You are knowledgable not because you had to find information to finish a project, but because you found information over the years to satisfy your own curiosity. When you write about the things you love, you are writing from experience. You become your own reference, and you dont have to search the internet high and low to find the thoughts and quotes of others. You are an expert in your own right, and can freely talk. When you write about the things you love, your enthusiasm shows. Youll have a fresh take and toss the formulas aside and it will show in your writing. When you write about the things you love, your client will love what youve written for them. So, when you have a client who is asking you to write on something you dont love, thats fine. Thats the job. But if that same client starts to make life miserable for you, pushing boundaries and getting testy about what you charge for freelance writing, consider if you really want to fight that battle. Write about the things you love as much as you can. It shows in your work. #FreelanceWriting3. Write For Your Freelance Clients, Not Yourself Remember, youre not writing for yourself. In fact, for some writing projects, your name might not even be attached. You cant approach every writing project as if you are building a public reputation for yourself. Instead, you need to be aware of the voice your client needs, and be that voice for them, because youre actually building their public reputation with your words. Clients have chosen you because of your style and that they like your work, but maybe your blunt blog posts that they say they loved arent the correct tone for their corporate handbook. It all goes back to asking the right questions, one of which should be to ascertain what tone they are looking for. You may want to speak to their marketing department so that you are on message. Doesnt sound like fun, but you can have fun with your own voice on your own blog. When writing for clients, you must become the voice they need. Write for your #freelance clients, and not for yourself. You are their voice.4. Sell Your Work Back To Your Freelance Clients Self-promotion comes easily for some, but not all. For those of us who struggle with self-promotion, talking about yourself feels icky; talking about your work and selling it feels even worse. But you have to. You could present your client with the same finished product without much fanfare, or you could present it to them with both an attitude of confidence and essentially sell it back to them,  and theyd prefer the latter. Why would you sell it back to them when they already paid for it? Theyve hired you, havent they? That ought to be enough. Your client wants you to give them confidence about your work. They want you to reassure them that they didnt make a mistake in paying you money to write for them. Maybe you dont have to do it after youve been in a working relationship for quite a while, but at the beginning, especially, you need to help your client love your work by showing them that you love your work, too. Its a way of showing them youre giving them your best, and that youre not haphazard about their project. You have to convince #FreelanceWriting clients twice: to hire you, and to keep you.5. Respect Your Client Show your client respect. Again, your clients take on your work often has less to do with how great you writing is, but how their experience working with you was. If you respect your client, their experience will be a good one. Respect Deadlines Time is money. You know that, as a freelancer. The same applies to your client. They have a deadline for a reason; it fits their time schedule. When you turn a project it past a deadline or barely under the wire, you can cost them money.  Clients love your work. Theyll love it even more if you get it to them on time.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

RanVan the Defender essays

RanVan the Defender essays The book that I read was RanVan the defender by Diana Wieler. This book was about a boy named Ran Van who learns many things about life through out the book. While living with his grandmother and going to high school with his friend Darryl, Ran meets a girl named Thalie. Ran first sees this girl getting pushed out of a car in front of the rite shop. From that moment on Ran decides that she was a damsel in distress who needs to be rescued by a noble person like the night in his favorite game Stormers. After taking to Thalie more at school, Ran meets her at the school later in the evening. Once the sneak into the school Thalie picks up a chair and smashes it through the glass window in the cafeteria door. Soon after this incident Ran finds himself doing more and more dangerous things every time he and Thalie meet. For instance, when later in the story when Ran is convinced that Garry is the Dark Lord of Thalies life and needs to be stopped he finds himself breaking down the framework of Garrys house developments. However the last time that Ran and Thalie meet to destroy the Dark Lord by burning down his house in which he is building for Thalies mom Lei. Garry shows up at the development before they can go any further with the destruction of the house. At this time Garry tells Ran about how the reason that Thalie has been trying to stop her mom and Garry getting married was because she was in love with him. Furthermore that Garry and her had done things in the past and that she was using Ran as a pawn in her game. Then Thalie snaps and tries to push Garry off the top of the building, having Ran save him and pull Garry back up. After this Thalie runs away Ran goes home to find o ut they are moving to Thunder Bay. After school Ran sees Thalie for the last time, she asks him to meet her at 8:00 in the tunnels on the playground. When Ran gets home he calls her mom telling her she can find Thalie at ...

Monday, November 4, 2019

Vinke Air Freight Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Vinke Air Freight - Essay Example Vinke currently serves large- and mid-sized companies who occasionally need to ship parts to meet emergency needs. The present client base certainly must value the fact that their large packages can be delivered to an airport and Vinke will transport the parts as well as arrange final delivery. In an emergency, industrial delivery scenario, Vinke's personal attention to clients is a major benefit. In the overnight letter and small package market, however, customers are not seeking the specialized attention that has built the company's current market. They are more interested in having their letters picked up at their location and timely delivered to the intended destination. Neither are they faced with the issues of industrial shipping. These customers are consumers for whom overnight delivery has become ubiquitous. They don't need specialized personal care nor are they constrained by the logistics involved in moving large manufacturing parts to meet emergency timeframes; they simply want their letters to be picked up and delivered on time. In considering the organizational changes required by the proposed entry into the new market, and the competition already in place there, the task could prove daunting. Vinke's current client base is industrial or manufacturing companies. These organizations can be serviced from the airport to destination. For overnight letters and small packages, the company will not be able to expect its customers to drive to their airport; Vinke will need to implement a pick-up service. They won't be competing for a relatively small pool of clients; they will be forced to serve the general public. This will require extraordinary organizational changes. Further, rather than the occasional and urgent nature of delivering large industrial parts that easily fill up planes with just a few orders, the new market demands will centre upon frequent handling of routine letters and small packages. Planes will either have to be full of packages from a high volume of shippers or fly partially empty to meet de livery requirements. The likely costs associated with this operational change will be quite large and potentially threatening to operating capital. Finally, competition in this market is fierce. One need only visit the web site of a major potential competitor to see the complex bundle of service divisions required to fulfil demand in this market (FedEx, 1). The organizational changes required to effectively compete in this market are overwhelming. The criteria necessary for evaluating the proposed venture are found in a standard Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis model. The critical issues for Vinke are clearly outlined in this matrix. Unable to utilize their key strength, personalized customer service, the company is overwhelmed by the weakness of its limited operation scope and mass-customer service incapability. Any potential opportunity that might be presented through the use of its current equipment and facilities is immediately and obviously threatened by the strength of the competition already in place. There may be growth potential in the overnight delivery of small packages market, as management

Friday, November 1, 2019

Attitudes to smoking changed since the smoking ban Essay

Attitudes to smoking changed since the smoking ban - Essay Example Research also shows that non-smokers that have partners who smoke in the home have a 20-30% chance of contracting lung cancer than non-smokers with non-smoking partners (BRANNON and FEIST, 2010). In addition, non-smokers who are exposed to tobacco smoke in work places have an increased 16-19% chance of contracting lung cancer (ANGER, KVASNICKA and SIEDLER, 2010). A study conducted by World Health Organization in 2002 suggests that second-hand smokers are exposed to the same amount of carcinogens as first-hand smokers. Second-hand smoke is known to contain 69 carcinogens, especially benzopyrene, and also radioactive decay, such as Polonium 210 (WAND, 2012). Moreover, studies conducted by well-known tobacco companies themselves show that many carcinogens are present at a higher concentration in second-hand smoke than in first-hand smoke. The reason why I chose this topic is that smoking has become very common; this is not to disregard the fact that I smoke also. I remember being staunc hly against smoking, but a year ago my friends convinced me to try it out. The ‘trying’ continued for a period until I realized that I was addicted to cigarette smoking. I tried dropping the habit, but it was too difficult a task for me, and I am continuing to struggle with this habit. This led me to put deep thought and research into what really prompts a person to start smoking, besides my story, what has been done to contain and eventually stop smoking, and what changes, if any, have been observed after the smoking bans have been imposed. As a result I narrowed down my study to researching the changes in attitudes and behavior of the people following smoking bans. The rationale for banning smoking, whether completely or partially at public places, is that smoking is optional while breathing is not. Therefore, patrons of smoking bans say that smoking bans are imposed to shield breathing people from the harms of second-hand smoke, than include heart diseases, lung dise ases, cancer and other ailments (PACIFIC TOBACCO CONTROL INTERIM GROUP, 2004). Laws prohibiting tobacco use in homes have been introduced and implemented by many nations, with Australia and Bhutan being the staunchest proponents, in different forms over the years. Law enforcers cite scientific evidence suggesting that second-hand smoke is as harmful to active-smokers (GOEL and NELSON, 2008). Furthermore, studies also show that smoke bans tend to reduce health care costs, improve work productivity, lowering the cost of labor in the community. In the state of Indiana in U.S.A, the agency of economic development planned in 2006 on including complete smoke bans in homes and in workplaces for making the workplaces and environment more attractive for local and foreign workers as a way for boosting economic development (INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE CA?NCER (BRAZIL), & PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2010). The Pan American Health Organization has stated that the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil wi ll be a tobacco-free tournament. This has come at a time when famous athletes were caught using tobacco which sent out a bad image of the sport to its fans and also encouraged them to adopt the habit. This is being done in collaboration with the government of Brazil, which cites that this ban would ensure a healthy environment for athletes,

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

The Essence of Agape Love in the New Testament Essay

The Essence of Agape Love in the New Testament - Essay Example The majority of scholars have thought of this word to represent divine, self-sacrificing, volitional, unconditional, active, and thoughtful love. Despite the word not having a specific religious connotation, it has been used by a majority of ancient and contemporary sources which include the Bible authors and Christian authors. (Wahlde, 2010) In the Old Testament, the Hebrew used the word Ahab to describe love, it was also used in extensive ways and milieus as the English term: sexual love, love of humanity by God, love of spouse or child, friendship, and so on. In the New Testament, the word ‘agape’ was used without bringing in too much philosophical or theological baggage because the word was Greek. Thus, among the majority of early Christians, the word ‘agape’ was used to refer to the unearned love of God for humanity. This love is so immense that God sent his only son to agonize and pass away for the sake of the sins of mankind. The essence of agape love in the New Testament is, therefore, self-sacrifice. It does not denote the romantic or sexual love of English. It is unique and is distinguished by its characters and nature. According to the Book of John, it affirms that agape is love which is of and from God, whose exact nature is said to be love itself. The apostle affirms that God is love. This implies that God does not only love, but he is love itself. Therefore, everything that God does flows from His love. Therefore, agape has received a broader usage with the Christian writers. It has, however, been denoted to Christian love or charity or God himself. Agape has been expounded by on by various Christian writers some of which we are going to look at. The most common attribute of agape love that will be realized in their writings is that it is a high kind of love that is selfless, and contributes to a passionate commitment to the wellbeing of the other. With reference to 1 John 2 19-20, we try to realize the kind of commitment one is required to have in trying to demonstrate love to his community and faith in God. The book tells us that once we have a feeling of belonging to a community, family or part of any tradition, it is not worth to walk out of it. In this excerpt, the author writes to the Christian community trying to warn them of the advent of antichrist. It is not easy to tell when this book was written. However, it is known that it was written by John, one of the apostles of Christ at around A.D. 180. He refers to them – the antichrists – as opponents who depart or go out from the Christian community. According to the author, their departure means that they were actually never part of the Christian family. In order to understand the importance of this verse, one must first comprehend the setting and the background of the bone of contention that had been hugely reflected in John 1 and 2. 1 John 19 – 20 strongly suggests that there was – before the dispute at present à ¢â‚¬â€œ a time when those departing the Christian community considered themselves as part of the community. The antichrists have now departed from the congregation, the Christian community due to this cause of disagreement – disagreement over Christological doctrines.  

Monday, October 28, 2019

Effects of monopolies in the Usa economy Essay Example for Free

Effects of monopolies in the Usa economy Essay The concept of a monopoly is largely misunderstood and the mere mention of the term evokes lots of emotions that make clear judgment almost impossible. The standard economic and social case for or against monopolistic businesses is no longer straightforward. According to Mankiw (2009) a monopoly is defined as a market structure characterized by a single seller of a unique product with no close substitutes[1]. When a business dominates a market, it becomes a monopoly by virtue of its power. A company (or a group of affiliated companies) is considered to have a dominant position in a particular market if it exerts a decisive influence over the general conditions of trade in that market or can restrict access to that market for other businesses. Markets keep changing with the times and so are the conditions in which businesses must operate regardless of whether they have any noticeable market power. [2] Monopolies have contributed significantly in transforming the US economy to be the leading economy worldwide. This is largely due to the benefits arising from legal monopolies created by the Patent and copyrights law. Monopolies are in effect powerful tools of spurring economic growth in the US. How do monopolies arise? Two major conditions contribute to formation of a monopolistic trade environment. A product which has no close substitutes faces no competition thus its producer becomes a monopolist. Exclusive ownership of a key resource may lead to creation of a monopoly. A classical case is exemplified by the control of the computer hardware, market by International Business Machines (IBM) for nearly forty years. Due to its market dominance over the hardware, institutions that intended to initiate a project had to do so with IBM. (Rise in Monopolies, n. d. ) Monopolies also develop where there are barriers to market entry. These barriers are obstacles that make it difficult or impossible for any potential competitors to penetrate a particular market. Such barriers could either be natural or legal constraints that protect a firm from competitors. A natural monopoly arises when technology for producing a product enables one firm to meet the entire market demand at a lower price than two or more firms could. Legal monopolies develop in a market in which competition and entry are restricted by the concentration of ownership of a natural resource or by the granting of a public franchise, government license, patent, or copyright. When Microsoft licensed an operating system from Seattle Computer Company in 1981 their explosion into dominance began. Microsoft’s dominance over the operating systems enabled it to diversify into producing spreadsheets and word processors. These new software were made such that they worked best with its operating system hence tightening Microsoft’s grip of the market. (Mises,1981, p. 86). Certain circumstances do lead to creation of near monopolies or oligopolies. An oligopoly arises when a small number of firms have relatively large market shares. Though each firm is independent, interdependence may arise whereby one firm’s actions influence the profits of the other firms. In addition, when a small number of firms share a market, they can collude to increase their profits by forming a cartel and acting like a monopoly. Default monopolies may arise when there is lack of sufficient knowledge or interest on a particular subject[3]. A firm may end up being a small monopoly by having an upper hand when it comes to accessing knowledge on a particular trade. A case in point is the sole garbage collecting company in Taos. Are monopolies beneficial or detrimental to the US economy? Monopolies have been in existence throughout business history and several corporations have achieved complete dominance over a wide array of industries. The monopolies have been accused of charging exorbitant prices to earn super profits with little regard to consumer welfare . A fundamental question is; Are these business practices ethical? (Haas, 2006) Citizens of The United States value competition in their market system. Competition not only keeps prices low and encourages production of new products to the market place but also fosters innovations that help to bring down the cost of doing business. Contrary to popular belief, monopolies are not illegal in the United States . Indeed a government-created monopoly is exemplified by the patent and copyright law. This is a law that governs intellectual property. A pharmaceutical company that develops an original drug can patent it for several years during which it enjoys exclusive production rights. Such a patent offers the producer monopoly status where the producer can charge higher prices and earn greater profits. On the other hand, such a law is beneficial because it encourages innovation and continuous research within pharmaceutical companies to develop new and more superior products. Moreover only big monopolies with significant market power have the capacity to carry out research and development on their products. This leads to innovation since new knowledge is applied to the production process. The nearly twenty year monopoly enjoyed by Microsoft in manufacturing of its computer software has not only ensured harmony and uniformity in computer software but also facilitated accessibility of computers by the greater population. Consequently, this has lead to the information technology revolution characterized by easier access to information by US citizens and thus the US economy remains to be the world’s superpower. It is through such innovations that new channels of business for example e-commerce have sprung up . Citizens can now buy items and find good deals through iPods and other innovative devices arising from research and development by giant firms. From a different perspective, in the absence of real competition a monopolist may lack an incentive to invest in new ideas or consider consumer welfare. Monopolies may in certain instances offer inferior services or products. Amtrak enjoys a monopoly status in the passenger rail system. It has been criticized severally for failing to develop hybrid high-speed locomotives that save on energy consumption as well as failing to service some of its tracks that remain to be under- par conditions. Donald,D (1997) suggests that monopolization can be advantageous to the consumers by enabling cheaper production due to economies of scale. A monopolist may manage to maintain lower marginal costs due to economies of scale and the advantages of division of labor . Consequently; this translates into higher output at lower prices than would have been possible under competitive conditions. Such economies of scale also tend to guarantee uniform output and harmony in product characteristics. The benefits arising from economies of scale may be eroded due to X inefficiencies[4]. Monopolistic organizations cut on expenses that would have been wrought about by competition and by so doing they deny business opportunities to various support organizations like advertising and public relations firms. This has the net effect of creating unequal wealth distribution since vast wealth ends up in the hands of a few individuals. Another issue to ponder over is what to make of those monopolies that have come into existence simply by being better than all the rest. A case in point is the Wal-Mart stores which has been accused of running small shop-owners out of business in locations where it opened stores due to its retailing efficiency. Sometimes a market dominated by few firms/sellers does not always indicate the absence of competition, it can reflect the success of leading firms in providing better quality products, more efficiently, than their smaller rivals. Some monopolies throttle the creativity of enterprises and are a detriment in certain sectors. A classical example is the United States Postal Service that has continuously offered US citizens poor quality services at the expense of taxpayers. This sector needs to undergo restructuring in order to give market access to potential investors and thus improve on service delivery to the citizens. Inefficient production firms that enjoy monopoly status in essence fail to make optimal use of their scarce resources and in such circumstances, government intervention may be warranted through application of competition policy of market liberalization. A major preposition that makes monopoly undesirable is that monopoly leads to a failure in the market mechanism because the monopoly price is generally higher than both the marginal and average costs. This in turn results in the monopolist offering an exploitative price to the consumer since this price is above the cost of resources used to make the product. Such actions restrict free trade and consequently the consumers’ needs and wants are not properly satisfied because the product is being under-consumed. Some monopolies especially in the pharmaceutical industry have been criticized for monopolizing drugs for certain ailments like cancer and Aids though the patent laws. Such giant pharmaceutical companies have been accused of engaging in profiteering schemes at the detriment of the welfare of the American citizens. The higher average cost of production that may arise if there are inefficiencies in production also means that the firm is not making optimum use of its scarce resources. This may necessitate some form of government intervention for example by market liberalization in order scale down the monopoly dominance. Government created monopolies in sectors that require enormous capital outlays have ensured consumers have access to certain crucial services which would not have been possible were such ventures to be entrust solely to private investors. These state-run monopolies are service providers whose main motivation is not profit but to cater for the welfare of the citizens[5]. Their services are crucial in providing enabling environments for the citizens to explore and achieve their goals in life. Monopolies arising from merges and restructuring can operate more efficiently and thus provide better quality services to the citizens. The mergers eliminate several layers of bureaucracy and create efficient standardized processes. [6]However it is worth noting that some mergers may deprive consumers the benefit of choice. Conclusion Monopolies apparently exist because the quantity demanded in the market is completely satisfied by the monopoly (Peter 2003). The widespread view that the monopolist can fix prices at will is erroneous because the laws determining monopoly prices are the same as those which determine other prices. A monopolist can best serve its interests by separating consumers into classes based on their purchasing power. A company that controls all aspects of a field can ensure harmony and uniformity. Microsoft offers an outstanding example on this front whereby the greatest proportion of computers run on their software thus enhancing compatibility. Monopolies have resulted in great innovations and immense growth in several sectors of the economy while in others they have been detrimental for example through collapse of small enterprises or delivery of poor quality services. Monopolies are both beneficial and detrimental to the economy and a cost benefit analysis needs to be done to ascertain the role played by individual monopolies in any particular market. This demands a precise definition of what actually constitutes a market because in almost every industry, the market is highly segmented into different products. Globalization has made it very difficult to ascertain the real effects of monopoly power in any particular market more so due to the effects of the rapidly increasing competition. With proper regulation, monopolies have not only positively contributed towards economic progress but they also provided a stimulus for liberalization of major market segments. Liberalization in return has opened up many channels of investment and the net effect has been a great expansion in available business opportunities on a global scale. References Donald,D. (1997). Microeconomics: The Analysis of Prices and Markets . New York, Oxford University Press. Haas,W. (2009) Microeconomics : The Effects of Monopolies . Retrieved Nov. 17, 2009, from http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/85453/microeconomics_the_effect_of_monopolies_pg3_pg3. html? cat=3, Mankiw,N. G(2009). Principles of Microeconomics: South Western Cengage Learning Mises,V. L. (1981). Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis Indianapolis: Liberty Fund. Peter,P. (2003)†Bullying the Monopoly Arflington VA: Security Management. .47, 12; Rise of monopolies. Retrieved Nov. 17, 2009, from http://cse. stanford. edu/class/cs201/projects-95-96/corporate-monopolies/development. html [1] This applies largely to pure monopoly where by the monopoly has total control over output and prices within a free and fair market with near perfect competition. [2] A common assumption is that a company is said to dominate a market if it controls over 65% of that market. As a rule of thumb, if a company gains control of 30 % of a market, it poses the risk of acquiring monopoly status but this depends on the size of other competitors in the market. [3] Default monopoly is in reference to a hypothesis advanced by Mankiw in an effort to explain how some non-convectional monopolies come into existence. [4] X inefficiency is a term first coined by Harvey Libenstein. It refers to the production losses incurred by monopolies arising from economies of scale and lack of incentives to be innovative. [5] The services of some of the state run monopolies are crucial in supporting the American citizens carry out their daily duties and thus their output in all spheres of their lives is thought to be enhanced by such ‘enabling environments’ [6] Mergers create more stable organizations that can guarantee continuous output of quality services and for an extended period of time unlike smaller companies that can be under constant threat by negative market threats.