The Dangers Of Smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Dangers Of Smoking - Essay Example Therefore, it will be the express intent of this author to focus upon the risk of cancer, breathing diseases, up to and including emphysema, and heart disease that smoking has been known to trigger. Moreover, the analysis will also consider the secondary health affects that smoking can visit upon the individual exposed to â€Å"secondhand† smoke or passive smoking. Through such an analysis, the far reaching and broad health impacts that smoking portends can readily be noted. Whereas many individuals are of the opinion that smoking is a dangerous process that threatens the overall health and well-being of the individual, the fact of the matter is that the overall scope of danger that smoking represents is much greater than most individuals realized. Accordingly, as a means of categorizing this danger and promoting a level of understanding with respect to the full range of damaging impact that smoking can have upon the individual, this brief analysis will consider and discuss th e litany of negative health impacts that smoking engenders. ... will make is one that I based on a logical framework of understanding the known risks which smoking provides to both the smoker and to those that inhale the second-hand smoke. Firstly, it must be understood that smoking accounts for nearly ? million deaths each and every year within the United States. This is a figure that is larger than the overall number of people that succumb to HIV/AIDS, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle death, suicide, or murders combined. As such, the overall scope of the damage that smoking can have upon an individual is profound and affects their life in a number of different ways. Most obviously, high rates of lung cancer can almost entirely be attributed to smoking. Current estimates place this number from 80-90% of all lung cancer cases; depending upon what demographic and gender is measured. Regardless of the actual number, the statistics that have been provided show that smoking is invariably attributed to high rates of lung cancer and death. Yet, this statistic oftentimes confuses individuals who assume that lung cancer is the only means through which smoking can adversely impact upon the overall health of an individual. However, smoking also increases the chances of developed coronary heart disease by up to several times the normal rate. Moreover, a vast percentage of all deaths that are the result of chronic obstructive lung disease are normally caused by cancer. Yet, of all of the health impacts that can be felt, it is the health impact of cardiovascular disease that is the most overlooked. Due to the impact that nicotine has as well as the artery hardening properties of prolonged exposure to first or second hand cigarette smoke, the narrowing of blood vessels helps to put smokers at high risk for any type of blockage or

Life Is What You Make It Essay Example for Free

Life Is What You Make It Essay It When thinking about my view of the world, there is a jumble of different philosophies, beliefs, and ideas going on in my head. There is so much to take into consideration, and it seems that everything is connected but also scattered in a way that it is hard to really be able to dig deep and explain on paper what my worldview is. After many headaches and deep thoughts, I boiled it down to the things that I could not get out of my head. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get rid of these thoughts when thinking about what to say. These key parts of my worldview are that I believe in the theory of evolution and the big bang theory, not that God created Earth. I believe there is not a higher figure that determines where you go when you die. I also believe in a person’s right to make choices regarding their own life. Although my values and beliefs may have been shaped from the people around me, I feel that I have values and beliefs that are truly my own and are not what other’s want me to value and believe in. One of the first things that comes to my mind when hearing the word worldview, is my view on whether or not there is a god and an afterlife. When I was a baby, I was baptised in the Catholic church,but I do not attend church on a weekly basis, and never have. Because of never going to church, I have very little knowledge of the Bible, and the beliefs of Catholicism. Having this little knowledge about religion versus the facts that I have learned in science class makes it very easy for me to believe in the scientific theory of evolution. I have a hard time believing that God created Earth and all its creatures, and even that there is a God. Which leads me into my view on afterlife and how you get there. I believe that there is somewhere you go when you die. I do not believe that you just rot in the ground. However, I do not necessarily think that it is heaven and hell, but I’m not quite sure what it is yet. As far as getting to the afterlife, I do not believe that there is one figure deciding where you go when you die based on the way you lived your life. Since my values were not based on religion, I believe in the freedom for a person’s right to choose regarding their life and death. Abortion, assisted suicide, homo and heterosexuality are all examples of the freedom of choices that I believe in. I think people have the right to make their own choices regarding their personal life, without the judgement from God or even other people. Another very strong value that I have is that I think it is wrong to judge someone based on their skin color, religion, body type, sexuality and even the opinions they have. I think that it is right to abide by rules and laws. If the majority of our society did not follow the laws that we have, America would be in chaos. I like the idea of a democracy, that everyone who wants a say gets one, but yet there is a group of people who keep society organized. In my opinion, my values, beliefs and what I think is right and wrong have been shaped from different influences. Obviously, the first influence came from my parents. Growing up in their household has definitely shaped my beliefs. For example, my parents taught me to abide by the rules given to you. But there are also some things that I do not agree with my parents on. For example, my father thinks being gay is wrong, I strongly disagree with that. Another factor influencing my values and beliefs is my peers. My values resemble my closest friends’ values and beliefs and because we have common views and that is why we are so connected. I grew accustomed to their values and beliefs because of being around my friends so often. In conclusion, my worldview is that there is no higher figure that determines your fate during life and when you die. Each individual personally has the right to make choices regarding his or her own destiny in life. I believe that my knowledge from science classes taught me that the Earth was created because of a big bang in the universe which is more powerful than my knowledge of how God created Earth and it’s species. My values and beliefs are truly my own, yet they would not be the same if I did not have the guidance and knowledge from my parents and peers.

How to Read Body Languauge :: essays research papers

If the eyes are the windows of the soul, then the body is the mirror of our feelings. If we are feeling great it shows in how we hold and use our body. Conversely, if we look at someone else’s body we can often tell how they are feeling by the signals their body is giving. So when it comes to dating, using/reading body language signals is a great tool. You can observe this by watching a couple flirting with each other. In case you don’t think learning how to read and use body language is not important, here are some statistics about the messages we receive from someone we meet. †¢ 7% of the information we receive is from what they actually say. †¢ 38% of information we receive is from the tone, inflection and speed of their voice. †¢ A staggering 55% of the information we receive is from their body language. These non-verbal signals will help you in dealing with the person but stay focussed on what the person is saying. If you focus too much on their body language signals, you and/or the other person may feel uncomfortable. It is useful to be able to read people’s body language, but it is equally useful to learn how to get your body to send the right signals and eliminate the wrong signals. See below for some body language signals. Be warned: body language is very much open to interpretation. Many signals have different meanings depending on the person/situation. Keep this mind when you assess a body language signal. Note: Look for 3 or 4 signals that convey a similar message or the oneoff inconsistent signal. Also, consciously practise reading/doing some of the signals as much as you can. Learning, as you practise, what works and what doesn’t work for you will help you gain confidence to use body language techniques consciously. How to Read Body Language 3 Body Language Signals: †¢ Open arms: o Energetically open and possibly feeling vulnerable o A good way to show you are approachable, especially when combined with open palms †¢ Palms up/open hands: o Defences down o An open heart †¢ Palms on chest – When a person uses open palms that occasionally touch their chest, they are signalling honesty †¢ Outward, upward hand movements – This conveys an open and positive message †¢ Folded arms: o A defence mechanism that shows the person is not open to what is being said or done o May mean rejection o Physically cold o Stubborn in their outlook †¢ Hands closed – A closed heart †¢ Doodling – Bored †¢ Fist: o Anger and to be avoided o Physically cold o Very tense How to Read Body Languauge :: essays research papers If the eyes are the windows of the soul, then the body is the mirror of our feelings. If we are feeling great it shows in how we hold and use our body. Conversely, if we look at someone else’s body we can often tell how they are feeling by the signals their body is giving. So when it comes to dating, using/reading body language signals is a great tool. You can observe this by watching a couple flirting with each other. In case you don’t think learning how to read and use body language is not important, here are some statistics about the messages we receive from someone we meet. †¢ 7% of the information we receive is from what they actually say. †¢ 38% of information we receive is from the tone, inflection and speed of their voice. †¢ A staggering 55% of the information we receive is from their body language. These non-verbal signals will help you in dealing with the person but stay focussed on what the person is saying. If you focus too much on their body language signals, you and/or the other person may feel uncomfortable. It is useful to be able to read people’s body language, but it is equally useful to learn how to get your body to send the right signals and eliminate the wrong signals. See below for some body language signals. Be warned: body language is very much open to interpretation. Many signals have different meanings depending on the person/situation. Keep this mind when you assess a body language signal. Note: Look for 3 or 4 signals that convey a similar message or the oneoff inconsistent signal. Also, consciously practise reading/doing some of the signals as much as you can. Learning, as you practise, what works and what doesn’t work for you will help you gain confidence to use body language techniques consciously. How to Read Body Language 3 Body Language Signals: †¢ Open arms: o Energetically open and possibly feeling vulnerable o A good way to show you are approachable, especially when combined with open palms †¢ Palms up/open hands: o Defences down o An open heart †¢ Palms on chest – When a person uses open palms that occasionally touch their chest, they are signalling honesty †¢ Outward, upward hand movements – This conveys an open and positive message †¢ Folded arms: o A defence mechanism that shows the person is not open to what is being said or done o May mean rejection o Physically cold o Stubborn in their outlook †¢ Hands closed – A closed heart †¢ Doodling – Bored †¢ Fist: o Anger and to be avoided o Physically cold o Very tense

Identity Theft :: Essays Papers

Identity Theft It has become a new tradition in my immediate family to take cruises to different places in July. This year was going to be the best for me since we were heading to San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Martin and Nassau. We had all our excursions picked out and for once everybody was going to do something that only I wanted to do. We were going to take a walking tour of Old San Juan and see all the forts and cathedrals that were built when San Juan came about, but a problem that would occur that day could keep me from enjoying the day I had been looking forward to my whole summer. Sunday July 22, 2004, my family and I were getting ready to head down to Florida to get on our cruise ship, â€Å"The Explorer of the Seas.† We got up at 6 in the morning and already I was having problems. I broke my sunglasses the night before and was not able to get another pair. We got to the airport, stood in the lines, where I had to be searched because I set off the alarm and then I got on the plane. A two hour ride from Baltimore would take us to our destination Miami, Florida were we would stand in line again to go through all the checkpoints and retrieve our room key that would enable us to go to the club, play at the casinos, travel on and off the ship and let the people who want to drink, drink. It was Tuesday, Steph, my cousin, was in and out that night bringing random guys into our room. See we share a room together so then we don’t have to deal with the grownups and can go to sleep whenever we want. By six she was ready to go to sleep but complained she was hungry. She woke me up just so then she had someone to go with her while she ate. I really did not want to move but knew that if I didn’t, I would never hear the end of it. So I told her to hold on while I got up and got ready. I went got dressed, brushed my hair and teeth and walked out of the bathroom just to find her passed out on her bed asleep. I became very upset because I only had four hours of sleep, she woke me because she wanted to have someone to go eat with and now she was passed out.

Case Stu

dyCASE STUDY Case 1: Haier in India: building presence in mass market beyond China 1. Why did Haier enter India? What did it plan to achieve in this new market? At First, Haier started as a small refrigerator factory in China. Zhang Ruimin put great emphasis on product quality, so he never tolerated any faulty refrigerators. By creating products under the value of quality awareness, Haier became the world’s biggest appliance seller by retail volume. In 1990s, Haier marched into global markets and used internationalization strategy.Haier made a great effort to break the bias that â€Å"made-in-China† products are of low quality. As Haier achieved success in the US and Europe by creating high quality brand image, it widened its scope more and more. At the time of 1980s, India was not a good target market for Haier to approach because the Indian government was acting very defensive to foreign companies. However in 1991, as India experienced payment crisis, the country had to liberalize and open up the market to foreign investments. As China encouraged companies to go overseas by subsidizing by policy banks’ loans, Haier decided to enter the Indian market.China chose Indian market as a target because India had the world’s second most populated economy and was experiencing rapid economic growth. The growth rate was similar to the one seen when Haier first achieved success in china. Also, Haier could expect several advantages from Indian market such as rising disposable income, an expanding middle class, and a relatively low entry barrier in the white good market. Banerjee, Haier India’s president, noticed that as the company was already gaining power as a major player in global market, appropriate strategy and direction would give Haier huge opportunities in the expanding market of India.Banerjee made specific targets for the company – to garner 20% of India’s white goods market in five years and to become one of the top three industries in seven years. Also he wanted to build an integrated manufacturing facility. The background of entry to Indian market was quite attractive. India’s white goods market, where Haier wanted to penetrate and achieve in top rank, was a growing piece of pie. From the materials offered in the case, [EXHIBIT 3], the home appliance sector was growing between 11% and 14% annually and Consumer Electronics sector was growing from 11% to even 30% in 2003.Economic growth brought increase of household income and middle-class. This is a positive situation for Haier because there would be more double-income and nuclear families which means more demand for house appliances. As Haier was already a global brand, it tried to expand its market more widely. As a result, India seemed to be suitable because its gross population was huge, and India was a developing country where more people would demand appliance as time goes by. Haier regarded India as a chance to generate dispo sable income for electronics purchases.With anticipation of the high market demand, Haier had plans for new plants, new production lines, capacity expansions, and even Greenfield investments. 2. Evaluate Haier’s entry strategy in India. What was and was not working? Why? Although many Chinese companies choose to first enter developing countries and then later more developed countries, Haier approached in an opposite way. So at the time when Haier entered Indian market, the company already had experience in high-end markets in the US and Europe.Because US and Europe market is mature market and competition is more fierce, Haier would have already known some strategies to appeal customers. Although Haier had experience and sources to attract customers, the entry strategies used in India were not all successful. Their production anticipation turned out to be too hasty. On the other hand, image setting strategy was quite successful because their global branding strategy made India n people believe Haier as a high quality brand, not many knowing Haier as a Chinese brand.The price strategy that Haier first adopted was a premium price strategy, which seemed to be appropriate when considering other giant brands such as LG or Samsung were adopting low pricing strategies. It could be a way to set the cost higher than major brands if entering company thinks price would not be a competitive factor in the market. One entry strategy that Haier and other company weren’t successful at first was the anticipation of high market demand in 2004. As Indian market was a growing market, companies expected the demand would rise significantly.As a result, they increased the production capacity. However, they were over-reacting to the market trend. Market demand could not catch up the production amount, so the refrigerator industry should have been overstocked. As an entry strategy, Haier adopted a global branding strategy in 2004. Before, Haier usually had an image as an e xport-based company, but Zhang wanted to create a name brand in the host market so that they could create an image as a global brand. In fact, Haier wanted to hide its â€Å"Made in China† image which implicates cheap and low-quality products.This branding exercise worked quite well, because people perceived the company as a Germany or the US brand. It seems that market positioning strategy adopted by Haier when entering the Indian market was quite tactical. Korean giants such as LG and Samsung took low pricing strategy, and Haier could have felt burdened to lower the price even lower than them. It is because if quality of Haier’s appliances turns out to be similar to those companies, and the price is similar or higher than them, not many customers would challenge to buy Haier’s.Nonetheless, Haier was confident because they already had experiences in Europe and the US market, and was quite well known as a global brand. As a result, instead of participating in a â€Å"price war† with other giant companies, Haier took premium price strategy in India. Haier rather decided to emphasize their quality in the market, which seemed to be the strategy of fighting in a â€Å"value war† The premium price strategy could be seen as both a success factor and failure factor. Overall, Haier succeeded to implant an image of global and premium brand in the Indian market.The perception of customers about Haier was homogeneous to what the company wanted their customers to have about them. However, image does not always make the company become successful. Haier showed quite disappointing revenue growth until 2009, which demonstrates that after all the company might not have won in the â€Å"value war†. Maybe the premium price strategy was not an option but an unavoidable plan, considering that giant brands were placed rigidly in the market already. 3. Discuss Haier’s localization model in India and other markets. Were they different? If so, why?As the [EXHIBIT 1] in the given material shows, Haier adopted different strategy models through timeline. In the early stage of the company, about 1984, Haier adopted Brandbuilding Strategy. The company itself was not settled yet so it had to build a brand image and notify to customers. Then from 1990, the company started to take diversification strategy. It is also the beginning of global strategy, when Haier started to export their products to the US and Germany. From 1998, Haier selected internationalization strategy, which means not merely exporting to overseas but marching to global market worldwide.From 2005, which was right after the company entered Indian market, the corporation took global brand strategy. Haier wanted to appeal itself as a global brand image with high quality and confidence. This flow of strategies proves that Haier incessantly worked hard to broaden its market strategically. From the stage when the company used internationalization strategy, wh en the company starts to actually find market abroad rather than merely exporting, Haier consistently adopted a â€Å"Three-in-One† localization strategy. Three-in-One† localization means that Haier would position itself as a local brand, produce locally, carry out a local sales strategy and create products tailored to locals’ needs. Basically, localization means adapting the production system and product itself to the circumstances of local industry. Through â€Å"Three-in-One† localization strategy, Haier could realize true localization which means the company could follow the local’s needs at maximum level. Haier’s localization strategy was rather tactical than other localization strategies. When Haier began operations in India, the company did not execute rapid localization.Instead, it took a step-by-step approach, starting from outsourcing. When sales volume grew large enough, it was right time to start acquiring local assets and doing l ocal production on its own. Haier’s approach in the US was similar to the one later chosen in India. When sales grew large enough, the company began â€Å"Three-in-One† plan. By building design centre, Haier realized true localization. The material given states that Haier also replicated this model in Europe. After all, Haier’s localization method seems to be basically similar in India and other countries.The difference of localization model in India and other countries would be more developed localization strategies adopted in India from the experiences of other countries. For example, Haier used factory in India to serve as a sourcing hub to markets in Africa, the Middle East, and Southern and Western Asia. Maybe it was the geographical advantage of India that could utilize this localization strategy. Mostly, the localization strategies were similar in various countries, starting from â€Å"Three-in-One† localization. According to the situation of each country, Haier tactically and slowly accessed to the market.After building factories which means actual production being fully held in the specific country, Haier built centers such as showrooms in retail outlets or design centers to make customers feel close to their products. Localization model used in India might not be regarded appropriate because for six years since its launching, the overall result was not satisfactory. However, from the point of arrival in India to the point of becoming as a brand well known in the country, the â€Å"Three-in-One† localization skill seems to be worked effectively.

Strategic Management †An Essential Tool

Strategic Management – An Essential Tool Free Online Research Papers Strategic Management is an essential tool employed by the senior management or leadership of a firm. It is an ongoing and complex process and hence, a dynamic one, where a firm’s management and leadership should be prepared to constantly adapt to competition and markets, reorganizing and retooling their organizations over time to meet set goals and objectives. Strategic Management is critical to ensuring any firm’s long term survival. It would analyze and evaluate the present and intended status of an organization; formulating varying strategies at differing organizational levels to meet those survival needs. This essay would highlight the various key areas and concepts, which comprise Strategic Management, defining what it is and how it can be used by an organization to ensure its future success. Strategic Management Strategy can be understood to be a science and an art, whereby one would attempt to execute well prepared and calculated plans, in an effort to accomplish given executive goals. This may be done through the use of various tactics, procedures, plans, decisions and measures. In addition, these strategies would serve to provide the organization with a desired competitive advantage. Management, on the other hand, may be defined as the process of effectively achieving organizational goals through Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling. Combining these two components together, one understands Strategic Management to mean, an ongoing and complex process of formulating an organization’s mid to long term goals and implementing the necessary strategies through management in order to realize them. Simply put, it’s the charting and directing of the future for an organization, ensuring its longevity and profitability within the aggressive business environment. Strategic Management would also been seen as the process of Crafting, Implementing and Execution of an organization’s strategies. This process would comprise five simple stages: The Development of a Vision and Mission. The Setting of Goals and Objectives. The Crafting Of Strategies. The Implementation and Execution of Planned Strategies. The Evaluation of Implemented Strategies. Vision and Mission Development Development of a Mission should be important to any organization. Mission statements would define an organization’s key values, beliefs, identity and purpose. It would reflect upon and answer such questions as what business do we want to be in, what customer needs are to be satisfied and what capabilities are to be developed. The Vision for an organization is a description of its desired future and operational state. The Vision would take into consideration future opportunities and changing conditions, essentially becoming a roadmap by which strategic decisions are crafted. For example, Eastman Kodak’s Vision is, â€Å"To become the world’s best in chemical and electronic imaging†; and Avis Rent-a-car’s Mission, â€Å"Our Business is renting cars. Our mission is total customer satisfaction.† Setting Goals Objectives The setting of Goals and Objectives transform the Mission and Vision into performance targets and serve to ensure commitment to the desired results. This in turn, can be used to create benchmarks by which the monitoring and tracking of performance and progress can be conducted. These goals should be quantifiable in nature. In defining goals and objectives, the following Criteria should be considered; Specific – where they are clearly and precisely expressed. Measurable – where tangible and assessable outcomes are produced. Agreed Upon – where those responsible for achieving the goals, have. Realistic – where they should be attainable. Timely – where they possess definitive start and completion dates. Crafting Strategy There are several questions which management should ask, necessary for the crafting of strategies. These questions include, how are we to succeed in the future? Are we going to delve into new and diversified markets? How are we to achieve a greater market share? And what values are we to build and develop upon. The strategies crafted at this point would guide the organizations on how these questions are to be answered, and as such, how the Mission and Vision are to be accomplished and pursued. There are essentially many types of Strategy, though only two will be highlighted. Firstly, a Planned Strategy, where management would prepare prospective game plans. Those plans chart the way forward, and the execution of actions necessary for constructing and maintaining a competitive advantage, ultimately attaining the successful business position. However, with time this Planned Strategy must react and respond to emerging business opportunities and conditions, therefore management would add new strategies and remove old ones. This is an Adaptive or Emergent Strategy. Examples of such conditions would include new competitive developments, technological advancements, developments, mergers and acquisitions within the industry, consumer trends and also prevailing economic and future conditions. Also, strategies are crafted at differing levels within the organization. In aiding with crafting, a situational analysis would be conducted. This is commonly known as a SWOT analysis, which looks at and evaluate the factors which would affect the organization’s competitive advantage and performance. Such as, The organization’s internal characteristic Strengths and Weaknesses, which serve to aid or retard internal organizational success. The business environment’s lucrative opportunity and imminent Threats, which serve to provide prospects for external organizational success or only serve to prevent it. The levels at which the Strategies are crafted would be the Corporate, Business and Functional. Corporate Level Strategies look at the organization in a holistic manner; and would include such actions as new business acquisitions, portfolio diversification, the synergy of business elements into one competitive force and ensuring priorities which promote the most successful business position. An example would be Cisco Systems, which purchased 71 companies between 1993 and 2000 to bolster its core competencies, and make it a foremost seller of IT products and solutions. Business Level Strategies look at the organization on a per unit basis. These strategies would define the competitive edge of the organization, unite its functions and also address any internal problems. Wal-Mart launched years ago an e-commerce site, where customers would make online purchases; and in so doing, further capitalized on its market share. Several of its competitors have also tried to keep up, launching similar services. Functional Level Strategies look at the functional departments within the organization and how they can be used to support and reinforce the Business Level Strategy. In 2005, the Dell Corporation sought to have a Dell computer in every home and business in America. To date, Dell has offered quality and affordable home and business computing solutions through very aggressive marketing, production, product development and customer support. This action has brought the company very close to the realization of its vision. The Implementation and Execution of Strategy This is the most complex and driven part of the Strategic Management Process. The Implementation stage of the process covers how management would put into action its organizational tools and resources, in a timely, efficient and effective manner, in order to achieve its goals and objectives. It can be shown to be done through the following. Leadership is the most critical area of Implementation. It would involve the influencing of others to agree upon and accomplish goals; generally through persuasion, motivation, a sense of involvement and purpose, understanding and culture-changing. Structure may be defined as follows†¦ â€Å"Organization structure is defined as (1) the set of formal tasks assigned to individuals and departments, (2) formal reporting relationships, including lines of authority, decision responsibility, hierarchal levels, spans of managers’ control and (3), design of systems to ensure effective coordination of employees across departments.† 1 Human Resources would cover all employees, their relative development, environments, conditioning, training, and employment status. Information and Control Systems would include information technology systems, information systems, policies and procedures, budgets, incentives and pay packages – all things necessary for ensuring success of other factors. Evaluation of Strategy Over time, management would have to monitor and evaluate the performance and progress of the organization, ensuring that it’s meeting its targeted goals. As mentioned previously, business and internal environments change with time, and management must ensure that its targets are being met effectively and on time. It may be found that the emergence and evaluation of new and existing conditions, strategies will have to be altered, redefined and improved upon to ensure Visions and Missions are held true. Organizations would need to make policy and budgetary changes, revise or modernize work processes and ethics, as well as improve financial reward systems and working conditions, hence, taking some remedial or corrective action. This would ensure that the organization stays on track for success. Conclusion Previous reading has shown that Strategic Management is indeed critical to an organization’s success, affecting every level and aspect of the organization. It is a cycle of events that take place over the lifetime of the organization, where CEO’s and Directors make long term decisions about their organizations; leaving the job of ensuring that the organization achieves its given goals and objectives to management. Ultimately, this would ensure the organization’s profitability to shareholders and investors, viability in given markets and survivability in the future and most importantly a sustained competitive advantage. References 1. Daft, R L (2003) â€Å"Management† – Sixth Edition. Ohio, USA: Thomson Learning South Western (p) 313. Online Resources 1. Wikipedia.com – The Free Online Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_management (23rd October, 2005) References 1. Daft, R L (2003) â€Å"Management† – Sixth Edition. Ohio, USA: Thomson Learning South Western. 2. Daft, R L (2004) â€Å"Organization Theory And Design† – Eight Edition. Ohio, USA: Thomson Learning South Western. 3. De Kluyver, C (2000) â€Å"Strategic Thinking – An Executive Perspective†: Prentice Hall 4. Hannagan, T (2005) â€Å"Management Concepts Practices† – Fourth Edition: Prentice Hall 5. Thompson And Strickland (1999) â€Å"Strategic Management: Concepts And Cases† – Eleventh Edition: Mc Graw-Hill Research Papers on Strategic Management - An Essential ToolThe Project Managment Office SystemOpen Architechture a white paperIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfDefinition of Export QuotasResearch Process Part OneMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesPETSTEL analysis of India

C Copy 11 Essay

C Copy 11 Essay C Copy 11 Essay Attorney for Plaintiffs SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA UNLIMITED JURISDICTION ANNE ANDERSON, an individual, AND ANNE ANDERSON as executor of the estate of JAMES ANDERSON Plaintiffs, vs. W.R. GRACE & Co., a California corporation doing business as â€Å"Cryovac Factory†, and DOES ONE THROUGH FIVE, Defendants ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) COMPLAINT FOR NEGLIGENCE, WRONGFUL DEATH, UNITENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS Plaintiffs allege against each defendant as follows: 1. The true names and capacities of all defendants names herein as Does are unknown to plaintiff, and are sued by such fictitious names pursuant to section 474 of the California Code of Civil Procedure. 2. Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereupon allege that defendant W.G. Grace & Co. was and is a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of California with its principal place of business in Woburn, Santa Clara County, California. 3. At all times mentioned herein, defendants W.R. Grace & Co. was a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of California with its principal place of business in Woburn, Santa Clara County, California. 4. At all times mentioned herein, defendants W.R. Grace & Co. and Does One through Five were the employees of their co-defendants Beatrice Foods Inc, and in doing the things hereinafter alleged were acting with the knowledge and consent of each and every other defendant. 5. In 1960, defendant W.R. Grace & Co. opened the Cryovac Factory in Woburn, California. The Cryovac Factory was used to manufacture equipment for the food processing industry. Employees of the factory were using the toxin trichloroethylene (TCE) to clean their equipment that was used in the paint shop. 6. W.R. Grace & Co. is located northeast of Wells G and H within the Aberjona River Valley trench. 7. During the period of operation of Wells G and H, W.R. Grace & Co. disposed the toxin TCE by dumping drums of the toxin into the ground surface. 8. Groundwater from the W.R. Grace & Co. site moved directly toward Wells G and H. The toxin spilled into the surface of the ground at W.R. Grace & Co., flowed with groundwater toward the wells. 9. Wells G and H provided water for East Woburn residents from 1964 through 1979. 10. Chemicals deposited on this site have contaminated the groundwater. 11. In May, 1979, after water had been drawn from wells G and H over the course of fifteen years, it was found that the levels of contaminants were extremely high. 12. Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a potent central nervous system depressant and can cause severe neurological symptoms such as dizziness, loss of appetite and loss of motor coordination. It can produce liver damage at certain exposure levels and cause cell mutations and cancer. TCE can be dangerous if absorbed through skin, ingested in water or breathed in the air. 13. Water contaminated with TCE was drawn from Wells G and H and ingested though the water, air and skin over the course of many years by plaintiffs, resulting in an increased risk of leukemia and other serious health problems. 14. James Anderson was exposed to TCE during the pregnancy of this mother through utero, because his mother drank the contaminated water. James Anderson drank the contaminated water at his home since his infancy. In January 1972, at the age of three, he became ill will leukemia. James Anderson died from leukemia at the age of twelve. FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION: NEGLIGENCE A. Plaintiffs reallege paragraphs 1 through 14. B. Defendants have a duty not to expose plaintiffs to hazardous materials. Defendants have a duty to safely and properly dispose of waste toxins. C. Defendants had a duty of due care toward plaintiffs and plaintiffs’ decedents in disposal of chemicals. D. Defendants knew or would have known that TCE is a dangerous toxin that causes serious health issues and death. E. Defendants’ failure to exercise the due care caused plaintiffs

Overview of Toltec Gods and Religion

Overview of Toltec Gods and Religion The Ancient Toltec civilization dominated Central Mexico during the post-classic period, from approximately 900-1150 A.D. from their home in the city of Tollan (Tula). They had a rich religious life and the apogee of their civilization is marked by the spread of the cult of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent. Toltec society was dominated by warrior cults and they practiced human sacrifice as a means of gaining favor with their gods. The Toltec Civilization The Toltecs were a major Mesoamerican culture who rose to prominence after the fall of Teotihuacn in approximately 750 A.D. Even before Teotihuacan fell, Chichimec tribes in central Mexico and the remnants of the mighty Teotihuacan civilization had begun coalescing into the city of Tula. There they founded a powerful civilization which would eventually extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific through networks of trade, vassal states, and war. Their influence reached as far as the Yucatan Peninsula, where the descendants of the ancient Maya civilization emulated Tula art and religion. The Toltecs were a warlike society ruled by priest-kings. By 1150, their civilization went into decline and Tula was eventually destroyed and abandoned. The Mexica (Aztec) culture considered ancient Tollan (Tula) the high point of civilization and claimed to be descendants of the mighty Toltec kings. Religious Life at Tula Toltec society was highly militaristic, with religion playing an equal or secondary role to the military. In this, it was similar to the later Aztec culture. Still, religion was extremely important to the Toltecs. The kings and rulers of the Toltecs often served as priests of Tlaloc as well, erasing the line between civil and religious rule. Most of the buildings in the center of Tula had religious functions. The Sacred Precinct of Tula Religion and gods were important to the Toltecs. Their mighty city of Tula is dominated by the sacred precinct, a compound of pyramids, temples, ball courts, and other structures around an airy plaza. Pyramid C: The largest pyramid at Tula, Pyramid C has not been completely excavated and was extensively looted even before the Spanish arrived. It shares certain characteristics with the Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacan, including its east-west orientation. It was once covered with relief panels like Pyramid B, but most of these were looted or destroyed. The little evidence that remains suggests that Pyramid C might have been dedicated to Quetzalcoatl. Pyramid B: located at a right angle across the plaza from the larger Pyramid C, Pyramid B is home to the four tall warrior statues for which the site of Tula is so famous. Four smaller pillars contain relief sculptures of gods and Toltec kings. A carving on the temple is thought by some archaeologists to represent Quetzalcoatl in his aspect as Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, the warlike god of the morning star. Archaeologist Robert Cobean believes that Pyramid B was a private religious sanctuary for the ruling dynasty. The Ball Courts: There are at least three Ball courts at Tula. Two of them are strategically located: Ballcourt One is aligned to Pyramid B on the other side of the main plaza, and the larger Ballcourt Two makes up the western edge of the sacred precinct. The Mesoamerican ball game had important symbolic and religious meaning for the Toltecs and other ancient Mesoamerican cultures. Other Religious Structures in the Sacred Precinct: In addition to the pyramids and ball courts, there are other structures in Tula which had religious significance. The so-called Burned Palace, once thought to be where the royal family lived, is now believed to have served a more religious purpose. The Palace of Quetzalcoatl, situated between the two major pyramids, was also once thought to be residential but is now believed to have been a temple of sorts, possibly for the royal family. There is a small altar in the middle of the main plaza as well as the remains of a tzompantli, or skull rack for the heads of sacrificial victims. The Toltecs and Human Sacrifice Ample evidence at Tula shows that the Toltecs were dedicated practitioners of human sacrifice. On the western side of the main plaza, there is a tzompantli, or skull rack. It is not far from Ballcourt Two (which is probably not a coincidence). The heads and skulls of sacrificed victims were placed here for display. It is one of the earliest known tzompantlis, and probably the one that the Aztecs would later model theirs upon. Inside the Burned Palace, three Chac Mool statues were found: these reclining figures hold bowls where human hearts were placed. Pieces of another Chac Mool were found near Pyramid C, and historians believe that a Chac Mool statue probably was placed on top of the small altar in the center of the main plaza. There are depictions at Tula of several cuauhxicalli, or large eagle vessels which were used to hold human sacrifices. The historical record agrees with the archaeology: post-conquest sources recounting Aztec legends of Tollan claim that Ce Atl Topiltzà ­n, the legendary founder of Tula, was forced to leave because the followers of Tezcatlipoca wanted him to increase the number of human sacrifices. The Gods of the Toltecs The ancient Toltec civilization had many gods, chief among them Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, and Tlaloc. Quetzalcoatl was the most important of these, and representations of his abound at Tula. During the apogee of the Toltec civilization, the cult of Quetzalcoatl spread throughout Mesoamerica. It even reached as far as the ancestral lands of the Maya, where similarities between Tula and Chichen Itza include the majestic Temple to Kukulcn, the Maya word for Quetzalcoatl. At major sites contemporary with Tula, such as El Tajin and Xochicalco, there are important temples dedicated to the Feathered Serpent. The mythical founder of the Toltec civilization, Ce Atl Topiltzà ­n Quetzalcoatl, may have been a real person who was later deified into Quetzalcoatl. Tlaloc, the rain god, was worshiped at Teotihuacan. As the successors of the great Teotihuacan culture, it is no surprise that the Toltecs venerated Tlaloc as well. A warrior statue dressed in Tlaloc garb was discovered at Tula, indicating the probable presence of a Tlaloc warrior cult there. Tezcatlipoca, the Smoking Mirror, was considered a sort of brother god to Quetzalcoatl, and some surviving legends from the Toltec culture include both of them. There is only one representation of Tezcatlipoca at Tula, on one of the columns atop Pyramid B, but the site was heavily looted even before the arrival of the Spanish and other carvings and images may have been carried off long ago. There are depictions of other gods at Tula, including Xochiquetzal and Centeotl, but their worship was clearly less widespread than that of Tlaloc, Quetzalcoatl, and Tezcatlipoca. New Age Toltec Beliefs Some practitioners of New Age Spiritualism have adopted the term Toltec to refer to their beliefs. Chief among them is the writer Miguel Angel Ruiz, whose 1997 book has sold millions of copies. Very loosely stated, this new Toltec spiritual belief system focuses on the self and ones relationship to things one cannot change. This modern spirituality has little or nothing to do with religion from the ancient Toltec civilization and should not be confused with it. Sources Charles River Editors. The History and Culture of the Toltec. Lexington: Charles River Editors, 2014. Cobean, Robert H., Elizabeth Jimà ©nez Garcà ­a and Alba Guadalupe Mastache. Tula. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Economica, 2012. Coe, Michael D, and Rex Koontz. 6th Edition. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2008 Davies, Nigel. The Toltecs: Until the Fall of Tula. Norman: the University of Oklahoma Press, 1987. Gamboa Cabezas, Luis Manuel. El Palacio Quemado, Tula: Seis Decadas de Investigaciones. Arqueologia Mexicana XV-85 (May-June 2007). 43-47

A History of God Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A History of God - Essay Example On the other hand, the term has also been applied more narrowly to mention only those religions outside the extremely large group of self-styled ‘Axial Age’ beliefs that include both the Abrahamic religions as well as the main Indian religions. In this narrower classification, Christians along with other Westerners, existing Paganism is a ‘minor and insignificant occurrence’. In accordance with a recent study, believers of Chinese folk religious conviction comprise around 7.1 percent of world population, and believers of clannish religious convictions, for an additional 5.2 percent. The amount of believers of neo paganism is unimportant in comparison, totalling to 0.04 percent world population at the most (Higginbotham & Higginbotham, p. 87). The first Gods within the world’s sacred beliefs are likely to be confined in the sense that their individuality is supported either by a particular cultic tradition, or on a particular colonized region, from fre ely circumscribed areas to cities. Archaeological along with chronological proof, in addition to ‘cognitive theorizing’, indicating towards the conclusion that the most basic types of religion cannot be supported on official set of guidelines regarding ‘counterintuitive’ truths; it is somewhat an issue of ritual traditions with no consistent explanation. Monotheism seems as a subject in â€Å"biblical manuscripts dating to the sixth century BC, representing an inner Israelite development over hundreds of years† (Higginbotham & Higginbotham. P. 76). The monotheistic dialogue can be assumed to have grown during a course directed by contemplative opinion, sustained by the intellectual association of ‘scribalism’. He argues that the significant lack of mythological components during the â€Å"later texts of the Old Testament, compared to West Semitic traditions, might be explained by the fact that the scribes responsible for the now extant biblical traditions either consciously censored older descriptions of Yahweh, or that the deletion was more like a secondary consequence of the literary processing of the traditions† (Higginbotham & Higginbotham. P. 198). The officially authorized and visionary analyses of the ‘monolatrous’ sect owes a lot to writing. Abrahamic religious convictions are the monotheistic beliefs give emphasis to and outlining their general cause to Abraham or knowing a religious custom acknowledged with Abraham. They are among the three most important divisions in relative belief, together with Indian religious convictions and ‘East Asian religions’. The three most important Abrahamic religions are ‘Judaism, Christianity, and Islam’ (Armstrong, p. 200-5). Judaism considers itself as the belief of the heirs of Jacob, the ‘grandson of Abraham’. Christianity started as a cult of Judaism during the 1st century CE and advanced into an individual re ligion with unique faiths as well as traditions, particularly its substitution of the Jewish thought of a special ethnic spiritual society with a comprehensive, worldwide society of supporters, the Christian Church. It substituted the thought of simple â€Å"monotheism with a Triune God who is simultaneously one and three. Islam was founded by Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century CE upon the teachings in the Qur'an. It retained the inclusiveness of Christianity, but reverted to simple monotheism with a central, but not divine, prophet† (Armstrong, p. 203). The three religious convict

An endangered species Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

An endangered species - Essay Example It is scientifically known as Panthera tigris tigris and its IUCN: Endangered A2bcd+4bcd; C1+2a (i) and lives in dry and wet deciduous forests, grasslands and sal forests as well as temperate or mangrove forests (Tilson and Phillip 3). The Bengal tigers live a solitary life marking their territories to keep away their rivals and are powerful hunters who hunt for their prey at night, which includes buffalos, deer, wild pigs and other large animals like wild ox. They are suitably adapted to their habitats and use their skin to camouflage before pouncing on their prey and killing them for food. Over the last hundred years, the hunting and the destruction of the habitats of the tigers especially the forests have majorly contributed to reduced populations of tiger as the tigers are hunted for their body parts used in Chinese traditional medicine and as trophies. Poaching does not make the matter any better as the human populations always shoot, trap or ensnare them to meet the ever-increa sing demands for illegal trade in wildlife and their products. The Bengal tiger has therefore been rightly included in the red list of the endangered species in the world by the IUCN, which lists the destruction of its habitat as the major cause of its endangerment. As already stated the Bengal tiger is endangered due to the encroachment of human populations and pushing them out of their natural habitats as well as for their body parts. The Bengal tigers are usually hunted as both trophies and the use of their body parts for medicinal purposes according to some cultures especially in China. They are always hunted to meet the market demands of the illegal trade in wildlife products, for example apart from being used as trophies, the endangered Bengal tiger also provide fur that is used to make carpets and coats. However, the major reason why the Bengal tiger is endangered is the

The Fold Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Fold Theory - Essay Example Deleuze finds the existence of the soul in the body; however, since there is no way for the exiting of the same, he justifies the statements made by his predecessor philosophers’ opinions regarding the place of the soul in the upper dark chamber of the body, diversified by folds, i.e. the mind. Deleuze also cites Focillon, where he submits to state that the latter viewed Baroque Gothic as the birth of the mystical experience, which is actually the long voyage of the soul within various parts of the vast and endless universe. Hence, the body remains confined to one specific zone or area, where it is actually present, while soul seeks no limits and boundaries for traveling and can reach everywhere it wants to move. On the contrary, the body remains silent to some extent and requires permissions and efforts in order to change its place. Deleuze declares Leibniz as the first philosopher to define and elucidate the mystical and mathematical dimensions in his work. He also states th at the world is made up of monads and divergent series, which can be compared to the folds. Consequently, it can be examined by keeping in view the infinity of pleats and creases of unified and dispersed matter. Deleuze has also discussed plastic forces in an analytical manner by presenting the examples of organism or living matter, where artificial is always inferior to the real one. It is because of the very fact that plastic cannot perform altogether in such a way as the living matter, though it is more machinelike than mechanical.

MOTOROLA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MOTOROLA - Essay Example Motorola Solutions is now generally accepted as the direct successor of the prior known Motorola, as the structuring lead to Motorola Mobility being spun off. (Boryana Georgieva, 2010) In 2007 when the reorganization took place, business was divided into three operating segments which included Home and Mobility Network, Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Mobile devices. Home and Mobility Network basically included products such as cable set top boxes, broadband cable modem etc; this contributed to almost to almost 32% of Motorola’s net sales in 2008. Enterprise Mobility Solutions deals with wireless broadband systems and it contributed to 27% of net sales. The Mobile devices compete in the wireless handset industry. (Boryana Georgieva, 2010) There are many factors in the external environment that directly as well as indirectly affects Motorola. First let us consider the competitors. Motorola used to own a high share of market in 2007, especially at the time of RAZR. However, th ey were not able to capitalize on the success with one major reason being the amount of competition in the technology market. Motorola faces fierce competition from Nokia, Apple, RIM, Samsung, LG and Mobile Internet Devices. Nokia possesses the highest market share in world right now followed by Samsung. They continue to produce high quality phones in great quantities for the customers. Lately, Apple and RIM have busted into the market with their unique characteristics with iPhone and Blackberry respectively. Because of their innovation, they were able to grab a huge market share and create brand loyalty amongst their customers. Apple were able to target, initially the youth which them spread out to a major chunk of the population, they also brought timely upgrades and additions to their iPhone which the consumers found all the more intriguing. Blackberry on the other hand went for formal and executive prospect, mainly targeting the executives. But due to their Blackberry services, which include Blackberry Messenger etc, they were able to gain high levels of customers throughout the world. (Aaron Christensen, 2009) Motorola has been going down the slope ever since. In fact, firm incurred a loss from cutting operations of $105 million which then resulted in $0.05 per diluted common share. The company which once dominated the mobile market has now been constricted to a lower market share. (Aaron Christensen, 2009) Even though revenues have decreased overtime, however, Motorola still has some strength as well. Motorola Company operates at operational efficiency, meaning their production and assembly line process operates in an efficient manner as to cut unnecessary costs and at the same time utilize maximum resources to maintain quality. Motorola’s products are high quality products, not only because they last a longer period as compared to some other phones, but their functionality is very efficient as well. Motorola has recently started producing the â⠂¬Å"Droid Family† which includes various products including Droid, Droid 2 & Global and Droid R2D2. The droid family was built by placing high value on importance on innovation. Motorola has also started segment targeting for the new Droid2 since consumers in the market place high value on trying out new things that appear onto the market. Now let us also consider some of Motorola’s weaknesses. Motorola management and shareholders are only worried about the sales and revenues, what is lacking is, vision. For any company to succeed in the market, they need to have a vision. For instance Steve Jobbs had a vision to bring innovation to the telecommunication technologies. Currently, Motorola is only concentrating on business and not focusing on the long

Witchcraft Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Witchcraft - Research Paper Example People also get reminded of old hags when witches are being talked about. The image that people have of witchcraft has changes significantly in the recent past, this drastic change has occurred because of numerous movies made on this subject, several books have also been published on witchcraft which has again helped in changing the perception of the people about witchcraft. This paper will shed light upon witchcraft and paganism since 1815; modern day witchcraft will be discussed extensively in the following parts of this paper. â€Å"Before really getting into what Witchcraft is, perhaps we should take a look back at what it was—the history of it. Witches should be aware of their roots; aware of how and why the persecutions came about, for instance, and where and when the re-emergence took place. There is a great deal to be learned from the past. It's true that much of history can seem dry and boring to many of us, but that is far from so with the history of Witchcraft. It is very much alive and filled with excitement.† (Buckland, Raymond. P.1) Witches have often been banished from our society, they have been tortured beyond imagination and this image has to be changed.

MOTOROLA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MOTOROLA - Essay Example Motorola Solutions is now generally accepted as the direct successor of the prior known Motorola, as the structuring lead to Motorola Mobility being spun off. (Boryana Georgieva, 2010) In 2007 when the reorganization took place, business was divided into three operating segments which included Home and Mobility Network, Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Mobile devices. Home and Mobility Network basically included products such as cable set top boxes, broadband cable modem etc; this contributed to almost to almost 32% of Motorola’s net sales in 2008. Enterprise Mobility Solutions deals with wireless broadband systems and it contributed to 27% of net sales. The Mobile devices compete in the wireless handset industry. (Boryana Georgieva, 2010) There are many factors in the external environment that directly as well as indirectly affects Motorola. First let us consider the competitors. Motorola used to own a high share of market in 2007, especially at the time of RAZR. However, th ey were not able to capitalize on the success with one major reason being the amount of competition in the technology market. Motorola faces fierce competition from Nokia, Apple, RIM, Samsung, LG and Mobile Internet Devices. Nokia possesses the highest market share in world right now followed by Samsung. They continue to produce high quality phones in great quantities for the customers. Lately, Apple and RIM have busted into the market with their unique characteristics with iPhone and Blackberry respectively. Because of their innovation, they were able to grab a huge market share and create brand loyalty amongst their customers. Apple were able to target, initially the youth which them spread out to a major chunk of the population, they also brought timely upgrades and additions to their iPhone which the consumers found all the more intriguing. Blackberry on the other hand went for formal and executive prospect, mainly targeting the executives. But due to their Blackberry services, which include Blackberry Messenger etc, they were able to gain high levels of customers throughout the world. (Aaron Christensen, 2009) Motorola has been going down the slope ever since. In fact, firm incurred a loss from cutting operations of $105 million which then resulted in $0.05 per diluted common share. The company which once dominated the mobile market has now been constricted to a lower market share. (Aaron Christensen, 2009) Even though revenues have decreased overtime, however, Motorola still has some strength as well. Motorola Company operates at operational efficiency, meaning their production and assembly line process operates in an efficient manner as to cut unnecessary costs and at the same time utilize maximum resources to maintain quality. Motorola’s products are high quality products, not only because they last a longer period as compared to some other phones, but their functionality is very efficient as well. Motorola has recently started producing the â⠂¬Å"Droid Family† which includes various products including Droid, Droid 2 & Global and Droid R2D2. The droid family was built by placing high value on importance on innovation. Motorola has also started segment targeting for the new Droid2 since consumers in the market place high value on trying out new things that appear onto the market. Now let us also consider some of Motorola’s weaknesses. Motorola management and shareholders are only worried about the sales and revenues, what is lacking is, vision. For any company to succeed in the market, they need to have a vision. For instance Steve Jobbs had a vision to bring innovation to the telecommunication technologies. Currently, Motorola is only concentrating on business and not focusing on the long

Culture Influence on Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Culture Influence on Education - Research Paper Example This research paper analyses the influence of culture on education within the perspective of critical pedagogy. Cultural Diversity in Contemporary Education The United States is increasingly becoming culturally diverse. The effect of this increasing cultural diversity is most evident in schools. But in spite of the increasing cultural diversity all over the country, cultural or racial-based segregation in schools has been growing. Alongside the evolving nature of U.S. education, ideas of how best to teach and learn in a culturally diverse setting have also evolved over time. The educational history of the United States, in fact, is full of examples of culturally biased policies that worked to segregate or exclude from formal education students of Latino, Asian, African American, and Native American backgrounds (Doyle 82). It is evident that ideas about racial and cultural inferiority and dominance have a profound and long history in the U.S. educational history. For a considerable pa rt of that educational history, the traditional knowledge was that students who come from minority cultures have a weakness ingrained in their identities. As a result, the faster students assimilated to the mainstream society the smoother would be their move to the upper rungs of the social ladder. In the second half of the 20th century, these assumptions were criticised and disproven, mostly by individuals from the cultures being forced to change. It is not accidental that educational campaigns supporting multicultural education and ethnic studies all appeared simultaneously (Nieto 88). Such campaigns stood for the condemnation of ideologies that had prevented numerous cultural groups from attaining educational success. All teachers nowadays deal with students who are more culturally diverse than ever before. This increasing cultural diversity influences teaching and learning. As an outcome of the evolving demographics of the United States and the rest of the world, culture and lan guage are ever more essential issues in contemporary schools across the globe. Unfortunately, only a small number of educators aside from experts in bilingual education, urban education, or English as a second language (ESL) have been sufficiently trained or experienced to teach students who come from diverse cultural backgrounds (Phipps & Guilherme 62). Consequently, numerous educators are not prepared to confront cultural diversity in schools. Such realities demonstrate that educational reform has to occur in certain areas, especially at the national, societal, and ideological levels. Meanwhile, students who are culturally different from the majority are especially at risk in a society that has viewed such differences to be weaknesses, and financial hardships to be a moral violation (Phipps & Guilherme 29-30). Nevertheless, change can start at any level, and this paper is rooted in the idea that teachers can and, indeed, should positively influence and inspire their students throu gh critical pedagogy. Knowledge is not unbiased, but it is usually viewed and handled by schools, teachers, and students as though it were. As a result, education has a tendency to be limited or narrow; it tends to accept only the least questionable and least offensive. But the truth is history is filled with fascinating controversies, debates, and socio-political conflicts. All

Ethics Utilitarianism Essay Example for Free

Ethics Utilitarianism Essay a.) Explain the main differences between the utilitarianism of Bentham and that of Mill. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that looks at the concept of `utility`, or the usefulness of actions. Two of the most famous Utilitarians were Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill; Bentham was the first to introduce the theory, and his views were more similar to that of Act Utilitarianism. Mill on the other hand differed in his views, and his intention was to improve the theory, and his ideas were closer to that of Rule Utilitarianism; and Mill was also the one to coin the name of the theory. Although it is the same theory, the two philosophers had two different concepts of the best approach to Utilitarianism. One of the main differences between the two philosophers view of utility is their idea of the intrinsic good. For Bentham, the goodness of actions is measured by the amount of pleasure they produce. For him, two things were the most important, the pursuit of pleasure and the absence of pain, and so happiness is pleasure without pain. Bentham produced his `hedonic calculus` to calculate the amount of pleasure produced by actions, which includes categories such as measuring the intensity, duration, and purity of pleasure to work out the best actions to take. This is because Bentham was a hedonist; he thought the best way to live life is the most pleasurable way. Although he never specifically said himself, it is thought that he would have preferred Act Utilitarianism, which looks at individual acts, and the amount of pleasure they generate, in each situation. This differs from Mill in that he thought the goodness of actions is based on the amount of happiness they produce. The practice of following a rule creates happiness, rather than looking at every separate act; it is thought that he was closer to a Rule Utilitarian, which involves following rules to create greater happiness. Furthermore, Bentham’s Utilitarianism is much more focussed on the individual. The individual judges each act by its utility, and the amount of pleasure it will produce; as it is about the quantity of pleasure, for Bentham, which decides which action should be taken. The motivation is for self-interest, which means that often justice can be ignored, as the focus is not on the wider public, which is different from Mill’s approach. Mill’s approach involves looking at the happiness of the community, so justice is addressed, and well-being has utmost importance. To make it more  universal he said that each desires their own happiness, so they should aim at it, and furthermore everyone ought to aim for the happiness for everyone else too, making sympathy the motive for doing an action. Both approaches are consequentialist, but for Mill, an ethical act is one where the consequences favour the happiness and wellbeing of all. His approach also looks at the quality of the activities as well, arguing that certain things can be rated as `higher` and `lower ` pleasures. He said that food, sex and drink are of the `lower` category, whereas poetry, opera and fine art and the like are of the `higher` pleasures, and that we should strive for pleasure of better quality, of a more high-class lifestyle, as they are of more value. Whereas Bentham uses the example of a game of `push-pin` (a children’s game) gives the same amount of pleasure as a good book, Mill argues against that saying the quality of the pleasure is what is importance. Essentially, what makes an act ethical for Bentham is the amount of pleasure that is produced for the individual, and duration and intensity etc. For J.S. Mill, an act is ethical if it follows more set rules, how much happiness is produced on a larger scale, and the quality of the pleasure, rather than the quantity. b.) `Mill’s Utilitarianism is superior in every way to the Utilitarianism of Bentham`. Discuss. Both Mill and Bentham wished to produce an ethical theory that created the most happiness, which is what they believed to be the basis for justice, and the best way of living. However, since they saw the way to achieve this happiness in different light, they had different approaches to the theory, meaning that one approach will be considered superior to the other. In my opinion, it is true that Mill’s approach is superior to Bentham’s, although not in every way. Firstly, it must be considered that it is not certain which `type` of Utilitarianism each philosopher preferred. Generally it is thought that Bentham took the Act approach, and Mill the Rule approach, however neither put themselves in any of the categories, so it is therefore debatable. It is evident that both do not stick completely to the respective approaches; as an example, Mill was known to write, â€Å"Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness†, which implies a prefe rence to Act Utilitarianism, although others still think that he may even have been a virtue ethicist. For the sake of this writing though, I will categorise each philosopher to their assumed approach. John Stuart Mill was very familiar  with Jeremy Bentham in person, as he was Bentham’s godson, and it is evident how this relationship affected his view on ethics. Mill attempted to improve Bentham’s theory, this concept of utility, which Mill coined `Utilitarianism`. However, his whole idea of the `greatest good for the greatest number` was accentuated by Mill when he made it more focussed on the community. As he thought more that happiness should be the standard of utility, not the self-centred pleasure. This improves the theory, as otherwise everybody will be focussing on themselves, and in many situations the pleasure of one person may exclude the happiness of many. I think it is also more appropriate inside the theory; as, if one looks out for the community, it seems more likely that the greatest good for the greatest number will be reached. Likewise, Mill’s idea of happiness being about the quality, not the quantity of pleasure, is to an extent better. The higher pleasures taking preference over the lower kinds of pleasures seem to fit with the quality of life, education and so forth. However, there is a danger that this idea quickly becomes snobbish, and puts the higher classes above those who would prefer rap music over opera. I suppose that this could make Mill’s approach `superior`, but in the way that is arrogant and conceited, rather than the definition of superior meaning improved. This shows how the theory is counter-intuitive in some areas; in how the community has importance, and not just the individual; and yet Mill still argues that the quality of pleasure takes precedence over the quantity, which seems to contradict the idea of community, and involve multiple classes. Another negative side of Mill’s theory is that he makes a jump with his universalisability ideas. He makes an inductive leap in saying that just because one person desires their own happiness they will naturally aim for the happiness of everyone else. John Rawls was known for criticising Mill and how it is not ethical to assume that one person would do something for a group, and how people can be used a means to an end because of that. Theoretically it is a suitable idea, that everyone would look out for the happiness for everyone else, but in practice it is not logical, he is separating morality and motive. An alternative approach to Utilitarianism would be that of Henry Sidgwick. In his book `The method of Ethics` he explained how he was concerned with justice in society. Although he was an Act Utilitarian like Bentham, his approach was similar to Mill’s, in that  the consequences take into account the welfare of the people. This is an improvement again on Bentham’s ethics as justice and welfare have importance over the selfish desires of individuals, which supports Mill and his superiority over Bentham’s Utilitarianism. In conclusion, Mill’s Utilitarianism is superior to that of Bentham’s, in that it looks at the welfare of the people more, and even though it is snobbish in some areas where Bentham’s approach is better, overall Mill’s approach is more improved as it looks as the happiness of others.

Bio-Medical Model of Health: History, Overview and Analysis

Bio-Medical Model of Health: History, Overview and Analysis INTRODUCTION Efficient, cost effective and patient centred care matching the needs of a complex, rapid changing health care industry is important as it undergoes a complete reconstruction. Keeping in mind its intricate nature, it is imperative that collaboration occurs in all stages of the planning process to ensure a smooth transition. The sheer volume of changes can be overwhelming, however nurses need to seek the window of opportunity and develop a new set of skills or utilize existing skills focusing on flexibility and adaptability to create new career pathways that can move nursing in a direction that has not been seen before. What is paramount in this equation however is the need to use knowledge from our past, building on its foundations to ensure sustainability. This literature review is based on discussing the Bio-Medical Model beginning with a historical perspective, synthesizing components within, leading to events which have driven the need for major changes in the health structure, design, process and delivery of health care. By reflecting on the past we can gain an understanding on economic, cultural, political and social influences that have helped shape our health climate and the way we work. This will enable us to gain knowledge and apply this to our future using a well grounded approach. Throughout history there have been many leaders who have contributed to shaping the Bio-Medical Model of Health and Illness which is the dominant model used in Medicine within the Western World, and is over centuries old. Rene Descartes in the 1700s recognized the mind and body were separate entities hence today there are different practitioners treating them, each with their own set of literature and research. (Cannon,R. 2014). ( Maher, n.d) argues that the mind and body are inextricably bound and there is no division between them. Alternatively some of the Eastern traditions work on the philosophy that the mind, body and all existential matter work together like a well oiled machine.(Large, E 1996). Many other people helped lay the foundations of the Bio-medical model of Health and illness for instance Louis Pasteur recognised that diseases are spread by bacteria and could be killed through sterilisation with Koch building on this concept by discovering that certain bacteria caused a particular type of disease. Joseph Lister played his part in medical science discovering that germs had the potential to cause illness and death. John Dalton stated that matter was made up of atoms which set up further research in physics.(Liang et al; 2006). These are just a few areas which operated under the umbrella of biomedical model of Health and Illness. The Biomedical Model is based on science and focuses on health as being devoid of disease. Science usually uses a system of enquiry which occurs through observation, experimentation, collecting data, hypothesizing and predicting resulting in a conclusion. Progress in science does not demonstrate allegiance to open interpretation rather favours accuracy and predictability. The main function of health services is to cure the sick and disabled working under a physiological framework. (Greenhill, 2008). Illness creates a physical change in the body due to chemical imbalances, viruses, bacteria, or genetic causes. (â€Å"Introduction to Health Psychology†. n.d.). Working within the Biomedical framework, the relationship between health and illness is confirmed whereby a person is considered to be either ill or healthy and there are no grey areas in between. Recognition of Patterns of illness is derived from signs and symptoms provided by patients assisting doctors in constructing a medical history in which further investigation can occur. Obtaining pathology is one method which guided doctors in enabling some form of treatment to be implemented. The patient is then expected to recover and therefore they are cured. (McGraw,n.d.). The social constructs of medicine under the Bio-medical model has been one where the doctor is a person who holds the knowledge, is competent in nature and ultimately the gatekeeper. They have been held in high esteem by the public due to their professional standing. This belief system was strengthened by the fact that the doctor held the power, was trusted and ultimately had the monopoly in health services which were self regulated. It was he who treated the illness. (Crinson, I 2014). During the 19th Century through regulating the profession, power was given to doctors to self regulate and the ability to regulate other health disciplines occurred so that they would exercise domination within the health service. Adams,T 2013). Using Parsons Systems model with its roots embedded in biomedicine, illness is considered to of course being undesirable with the ill individual,who must take on that persona and seek help accordingly, co-operating with directives from a health professional. Based on Parson’s theory no onus occurs on behalf of the individual in relation to health ownership, resulting in people when ill have the right to withdraw from their social responsibilities such as attending school or work. (Parsons, 2011). This type of belief system is somewhat contradictory in terms where in some cultural contexts however, individuals are made to feel responsible for their medical conditions and often ridiculed such as those that smoke and those that consume large amounts of alcohol, while others in comparison are made to feel blameless. (Lupton, 2012). Philosophy has influenced and transfigured meta-physical medicine into scientific medicine. The philosophical changes focus on knowledge drawn through observation, and experiences and therefore knowledge is based on facts, evidence and research (empiricism) (Thomas, 2014). Secularism progressed with the shift of dominance of religious and spiritual influence in health and physical reductionism which involved dissecting and interpreting complex processes into small parts resulting in a broader understanding of illness.( Beresford, 2010). Doctors are seen to make judgments on who is ill and who is not.( Ekobi, 2013). Conditions of a person are evaluated rather than the impact a condition has on them. (Leimkuehler, 2005). Alterations within the body are defined, measured and isolated. Patients often take a passive role in the Doctor/Nurse relationship. The doctor is an authoritative figure who gives an order or suggestion and the patient obeys. (Darkins Cary, 2000). Treatment of illness occurs from an outside intervention directed and controlled usually by the doctor either physically such as through surgery or chemically using medication. (Vallis McHugh 2011 The psychological, social, behavioural and environmental aspects are not usually given much emphasis in treatment of patients for practitioners working under the auspices of the biomedical model. Difficulties occur when explaining chronic pain and underlying pathophysiology is examined in isolation, making it difficult to explain why treatments fail. (Lewis 2014). Literature from many sources have outlined the increase in costs, nursing recruitment and retention problems, aged population, technological advances and a more informed society have all contributed to the medical model of practice that no longer meets people’s health needs both on an individual level and globally. The biopsychosocial supports the view that illness culminates from one or a number of causes such as biological, psychological or environmental issues. (Waddell G Aylward 2010). Albelson et al supports this and identifies causative factors such as age, genetic makeup, social support, social role in society, level of income and many other internal and external elements, which necessitates promotion of initiatives within health policies and management. The social model is not designed as a substitute for the biomedical model but it is there to complement it. (Germov,J 2013). A qualitative study executed in Canada investigated whether or not population health was integrated, as a focus for future plans within their health programmes. Results demonstrated that although there was inclusion within their policies, however leaders in the health field acknowledged the need to develop flexible frameworks, and they emphasized the importance of sharing a large body of knowledge that could be adapted across different contexts. Evidence based practice has been used within the biomedical model of health, and is important in justifying and being accountable for your work. Your ideals and values within the framework and model that underpins your work culture guides your practice and therefore this will dictate how you would answer the question â€Å"What is health promotion?† One may answer by helping people cope with their social environment, or maybe to look at how their environment can work to their advantage or by reviewing the medical treatment given which would provide optimum results. (Raphael, 2000). For a smooth transition from one paradigm to another, requires people to be engaged in the change process by enhancing their abilities and willingness to become active rather than proactive in their health. Research has shown that by adopting the following principles this will be beneficial to all concerned. Importance should be highlighted in involving all parties in the decision making process from contributing to the healthcare design, and delivery to the point of evaluation. Encouraging willing participants to promote patient centred care through advocacy, optimises policy development. Targeting resources to those that are most vulnerable reduce inequalities in health care is valuable in making positive changes. (Self Management Alliance, 2010). How you envisage healthcare in the very near future hopefully will be a system run by efficient knowledgeable staff who delivers quality, patient centred care in a timely fashion. A system which focuses on prevention and embracing a holistic approach in easily accessible, user friendly settings, staff will promote empowerment so that people can take back some control over health practices whilst making informed choices with the aim of addressing the who, where, what and why principles when it comes to all that affects ones health. Working as one close unit together as individuals, family, friends, and community and globally will go a long way in the improving health for all. CONCLUSION Medicine is no longer a static process with predictable ways of measuring all health outcomes .Riding the journey and embracing change both in the health industry and that of society which is subjected to internal and external forces, through reflection the ride can be made smoother by our history can set the climate for open discussion and effective communication so that we can reproduce the conceptual dimensions which worked to our advantage, and bypass the rest. What is abundantly clear is the need for nurses to learn the importance of having their voice heard through joint decision making processes and move on from a culture that in the past has subtly led nurses to being second cousins to other professions. It should be noted that with such complexities of an everychanging world is medicine requiring a change in health paradigm there is no one panacea within this context. When it comes to designing the perfect health care system we can’t just leave it up to serendipity. Just something for us to ponder over is Christiaan Barnards words which are as follows: I dont believe medical discoveries are doing much to advance human life. As fast as we create ways to extend it we are inventing ways to shorten it. Christiaan Barnard

Yin and Yang: the Nature of Scientific Explanation in a Culture Essays

Yin and Yang: the Nature of Scientific Explanation in a Culture ABSTRACT: I explore the nature of scientific explanation in a culture centering on the doctrine of yin and yang combined with that of five phrases, wu-hsing (YYFP). I note how YYFP functions as an alternative to the causal way of thinking, as well as the meaning of scientific explanation in a culture. I also consider whether a scientific concept becomes metaphorical when it is superseded by an alternative organizing concept. To a Western eye, or even to a contemporary Eastern eye, many explanations given under the doctrine of yin and yang combined with that of five phases (wu-hsing), apparently intended to be scientific, would seem either absurd or too arbitrary at first sight. An intriguing fact, however, is that the doctrine of yin and yang and that of five phases (hereafter YYFP) has prevailed until quite recently in almost all the areas of Far-Eastern cultures including medicine, astronomy, music, dance, architecture, geomancy. In this essay, I pay attention to the questions such as how YYFP functioned as an alternative to the causal way of thinking, and what it is to be a scientific or theoretical explanation in a culture. I also consider the question of whether a scientific concept becomes metaphorical when it is superseded by an alternative organizing concept. Let me begin with the development of the concept of YYFP, as you may not know in the first place what YYFP is. Until around the 4th century B.C., yin and yang were current words for "sunshine" and "shade" and were used separately from the five phases of change. Soon after, they came to be included in the six ch'i (six powers or forces) of Heaven. The six ch'i refer to wind, rain, dark, light,... .... Recent developments in quantum physics, biology and information science have put us in a position where we question the uniqueness of the causal-mechanical model of science. But these developments, even though sciences based on non-causal concepts might dominate in the culture, would not eradicate the causal way people have viewed the world and themselves, but only relegate the concept of cause to the realm of metaphor, a rhetorical way of putting things. The concept of cause then would no longer be a scientific concept, but would still be alive in the culture. What brings a change in the general worldview then? This would be the question I still have to ask. Notes (1) Tr.(in Korean)& ed. by Chung Young Ho (Jayou-Moongo, 1993), pp.22-23. English translation is mine. (2) Cf. Tung Chung-suh, Ch'un-ch'iu fan-lu (Luxurian Gems of the Spring and Autumn Annals).

Arrow of Time: Towards a New Epistemology of Science :: Scientific Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Arrow of Time: Towards a New Epistemology of Science ABSTRACT: Humanity has tried to comprehend two fundamental events since time immemorial: the birth of the universe and the emergence of life. Recently, it is claimed that these events can be understood comprehensively by means of a metaphor: the 'arrow of time.' The purpose of the present paper is twofold: (1) to build an epistemological structure that underlies the principle of time's arrow; and (2) to pursue the unity of science in a novel fashion. (A) WHAT IS AN ARROW OF TIME? The events which we see in the universe are classified into two categories: the reversible and the irreversible. The arrow of time is relevant to the latter than the former. It is alongwith the reversible-irreversible syndrome that a major light can be thrown on the notion of time's arrow. Concept of Reversibility The reversible events are those which occur regularly and repeatedly, the cycles of seasons, harvesting , pendulum swinging in a frictionless medium , the motion of earth and the moon , are some of the examples. Reversibility is an idealized concept . A process is said to be reversible if and only if the system which undergoes that process together with all parts of its environment which are affected, can be restored reproducibly to their original states. In short, in the reversible process all relevant parts of the universe must be capable of being put back to how they were! Time is not so considered to be an important ingredient in this system. The entire Newtonian Science is of this sort. Newton's laws , Maxwell's equations, Einstein's general relativity and even quantum mechanics- all remain effectively unaltered if we reverse the direction of time ( Replace the ' t ' which represents time by '-t' ). Even in life and the social sciences, time is not considered to be important com ponent in these system of knowledge. The notion of time's arrow is very important in the context of irreversible processes. Irreversibility defined Irreversibility is the negation of reversibility. It is a realistic notion. Moreover, it is the one-way time evolution of the system, giving rise to the non-repetitive , non-cyclic processes or events. The examples are , mixing a milk in the coffee, transfer of heat from a hotter body to a cooler one, chemical changes, the state of turbulence and chaos, rhythms, non-equilibrium systems, metabolism etc. Irreversibility is an open system in the sense that it interacts with its surrounding area and evolves simultaneously.

Mankiw Chapter 1 Solution

The answers to the Quick Quizzes can also be found near the end of the textbook. 1. The four principles of economic decision making are: (1) people face trade-offs; (2) the cost of something is what you give up to get it; (3) rational people think at the margin; and (4) people respond to incentives. People face trade-offs because to get one thing that they like, they usually have to give up another thing that they like. The cost of something is what you give up to get it, not just in terms of monetary costs but all opportunity costs.Rational people think at the margin by taking an action if and only if the marginal benefit exceeds the marginal cost. People respond to incentives because they choose activities by comparing benefits to costs; therefore, a change in these benefits or costs may cause their behavior to change. The three principles concerning people’s economic interactions are: (1) trade can make everyone better off; (2) markets are usually a good way to organize eco nomic activity; and (3) governments can sometimes improve market outcomes.Trade can make everyone better off because it allows countries to specialize in what they do best and to enjoy a wider variety of goods and services. Markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity because the invisible hand leads markets to desirable outcomes. Governments can sometimes improve market outcomes because markets may fail to allocate resources efficiently due to an externality or market power.The three principles that describe how the economy as a whole works are: (1) a country’s standard of living depends on its ability to produce goods and services; (2) prices rise when the government prints too much money; and (3) society faces a shortrun trade-off between inflation and unemployment. A country’s standard of living depends largely on the productivity of its workers, which in turn depends on the education of its workers and the access its workers have to the necessary t ools and technology. Prices rise when the government prints too much money because more money in circulation reduces the value of money, causing inflation.Society faces a short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment that is only temporary. Policymakers have some short-term ability to exploit this relationship using various policy instruments. 2. 3. Questions for Review 1. Examples of trade-offs include time trade-offs (such as studying one subject over another or studying at all compared to engaging in social activities) and spending tradeoffs (such as whether to use your last 15 dollars to purchase a pizza or to buy a study guide for that tough economics course).The opportunity cost of seeing a movie includes the monetary cost of admission plus the time cost of going to the theater and attending the show. The time cost depends on what else you might do with that time; if it is staying home and watching TV, the time cost may be small, but if it is working an extra three ho urs at your job, the time cost is the money you could have earned. The marginal benefit of a glass of water depends on your circumstances. If you have just 2. 3. Chapter 1/Ten Principles of Economics 2 un a marathon or you have been walking in the desert sun for three hours, the marginal benefit is very high. But if you have been drinking a lot of liquids recently, the marginal benefit is quite low. The point is that even the necessities of life, like water, do not always have large marginal benefits. 4. Policymakers need to think about incentives so they can understand how people will respond to the policies they put in place. The text's example of seat belt laws shows that policy actions can have unintended consequences.If incentives matter a lot, they may lead to a very different type of policy; for example, some economists have suggested putting knives in steering columns so that people will drive much more carefully! While this suggestion is silly, it highlights the importance of incentives. Trade among countries is not a game with some losers and some winners because trade can make everyone better off. By allowing specialization, trade between people and trade between countries can improve everyone's welfare.The â€Å"invisible hand† of the marketplace represents the idea that even though individuals and firms are all acting in their own self-interest, prices and the marketplace guide them to do what is good for society as a whole. The two main causes of market failure are externalities and market power. An externality is the impact of one person’s actions on the well-being of a bystander, such as from pollution or the creation of knowledge. Market power refers to the ability of a single person (or small group of people) to unduly influence market prices, such as in a town with only one well or only one cable television company.In addition, a market economy also leads to an unequal distribution of income. Productivity is important because a country's standard of living depends on its ability to produce goods and services. The greater a country's productivity (the amount of goods and services produced from each hour of a worker's time), the greater its standard of living will be. Inflation is an increase in the overall level of prices in the economy. Inflation is caused by increases in the quantity of a nation's money.Inflation and unemployment are negatively related in the short run. Thus, reducing inflation entails costs to society in the form of higher unemployment in the short run. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Problems and Applications 1. a. A family deciding whether to buy a new car faces a trade-off between the cost of the car and other things they might want to buy. For example, buying the car might mean they must give up going on vacation for the next two years. So the real cost of the car is the family's opportunity cost in terms of what they must give up.For a member of Congress deciding whether to increase spending on national parks, the trade-off is between parks and other spending items or tax cuts. If more money goes into the park system, that may mean less spending on national defense or on the police force. Or, instead of spending more money on the park system, taxes could be reduced. b. Chapter 1/Ten Principles of Economics c. 3 When a company president decides whether to open a new factory, the decision is based on whether the new factory will increase the firm's profits compared to other alternatives.For example, the company could upgrade existing equipment or expand existing factories. The bottom line is: Which method of expanding production will increase profit the most? In deciding how much to prepare for class, a professor faces a trade-off between the value of improving the quality of the lecture compared to other things she could do with her time, such as working on additional research. d. 2. When the benefits of something are psychological, such as going on a vacation, it is not e asy to compare benefits to costs to determine if it is worth doing.But there are two ways to think about the benefits. One is to compare the vacation with what you would do in its place. If you did not go on vacation, would you buy something like a new set of golf clubs? Then you can decide if you would rather have the new clubs or the vacation. A second way is to think about how hard you had to work to earn the money to pay for the vacation. You can then decide if the psychological benefits of the vacation were worth the psychological cost of working.If you are thinking of going skiing instead of working at your part-time job, the cost of skiing includes its monetary and time costs, which includes the opportunity cost of the wages you are giving up by not working. If the choice is between skiing and going to the library to study, then the cost of skiing is its monetary and time costs including the cost of getting lower grades in your courses. If you spend $100 now instead of saving it for a year and earning 5 percent interest, you are giving up the opportunity to spend $105 a year from now.The fact that you have already sunk $5 million is not relevant to your decision anymore, because that money is gone. What matters now is the chance to earn profits at the margin. If you spend another $1 million and can generate sales of $3 million, you'll earn $2 million in marginal profit, so you should do so. You are right to think that the project has lost a total of $3 million ($6 million in costs and only $3 million in revenue) and you should not have started it. That is true, but if you do not spend the additional $1 million, you will not have any sales and your losses will be $5 million.So what matters is not the total profit, but the profit you can earn at the margin. In fact, you wouldd pay up to $3 million to complete development; any more than that, and you will not be increasing profit at the margin. Harry suggests looking at whether productivity would rise or f all. Productivity is certainly important, since the more productive workers are, the lower the cost per gallon of potion. Ron wants to look at average cost. But both Harry and Ron are missing the other side of the equation? revenue. A firm wants to maximize its profits, so it needs to examine both costs and revenues.Thus, Hermione is right? it is best to examine whether the extra revenue would exceed the extra costs. Hermione is the only one who is thinking at the margin. a. The provision of Social Security benefits lowers an individual’s incentive to save for retirement. The benefits provide some level of income to the individual when he or she retires. This means that the individual is not entirely dependent on savings to support consumption through the years in retirement. Since a person gets fewer after-tax Social Security benefits the greater his or her 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. b.Chapter 1/Ten Principles of Economics earnings are, there is an incentive not to work (or not work as much) after age 65. The more you work, the lower your after-tax Social Security benefits will be. Thus, the taxation of Social Security benefits discourages work effort after age 65. 8. a. b. When welfare recipients have their benefits cut off after two years, they have a greater incentive to find jobs than if their benefits were to last forever. 4 The loss of benefits means that someone who cannot find a job will get no income at all, so the distribution of income will become less equal.But the economy will be more efficient, because welfare recipients have a greater incentive to find jobs. Thus, the change in the law is one that increases efficiency but reduces equity. 9. By specializing in each task, you and your roommate can finish the chores more quickly. If you divided each task equally, it would take you more time to cook than it would take your roommate, and it would take him more time to clean than it would take you. By specializing, you reduce the total time spent on chore s. Similarly, countries can specialize and trade, making both better off.For example, suppose it takes Spanish workers less time to make clothes than French workers, and French workers can make wine more efficiently than Spanish workers. Then Spain and France can both benefit if Spanish workers produce all the clothes and French workers produce all the wine, and they exchange wine for clothes. 10. a. To produce the right number of CDs by the right artists and deliver them to the right people requires an enormous amount of information. You need to know about production techniques and costs in the CD industry. You need to know each person's musical tastes and which artists they want to hear.If you make the wrong decisions, you will be producing too many CDs by artists that people do not want to hear, and not enough by others. Your decisions about CDs will carry over to other decisions. You have to make the right number of CD players for people to use. If you make too many CDs and not enough cassette tapes, people with cassette players will be stuck with CDs they cannot play. The probability of making mistakes is very high. You will also be faced with tough choices about the music industry compared to other parts of the economy.If you produce more sports equipment, you will have fewer resources for making CDs. So all decisions about the economy influence your decisions about CD production. b. 11. Countries that have corrupt police and court systems do not enforce individual property rights, including the rights over the goods and services produced by households and firms. Firms will not choose to produce products and individuals will choose not to work if there is no guarantee that they will receive payment for their efforts. Therefore, these countries end up with a lower standard of living. . b. c. d. e. Efficiency: The market failure comes from the market power of the cable TV firm. Equity Efficiency: An externality arises because secondhand smoke harms nonsmok ers. Efficiency: The market failure occurs because of Standard Oil's market power. Equity 12. Chapter 1/Ten Principles of Economics f. 13. a. 5 Efficiency: There is an externality because of accidents caused by drunk drivers. If everyone were guaranteed the best health care possible, much more of our nation's output would be devoted to medical care than is now the case.Would that be efficient? If you believe that doctors have market power and restrict health care to keep their incomes high, you might think efficiency would increase by providing more health care. But more likely, if the government mandated increased spending on health care, the economy would be less efficient because it would give people more health care than they would choose to pay for. From the point of view of equity, if poor people are less likely to have adequate health care, providing more health care would represent an improvement.Each person would have a more even slice of the economic pie, though the pie wo uld consist of more health care and less of other goods. When workers are laid off, equity considerations argue for the unemployment benefits system to provide them with some income until they can find new jobs. After all, no one plans to be laid off, so unemployment benefits are a form of insurance. But there is an efficiency problem? why work if you can get income for doing nothing? The economy is not operating efficiently if people remain unemployed for a long time, and unemployment benefits encourage unemployment.Thus, there is a trade-off between equity and efficiency. The more generous unemployment benefits are, the less income is lost by an unemployed person, but the more that person is encouraged to remain unemployed. So greater equity reduces efficiency. b. 14. Because average income in the United States has roughly doubled every 35 years, we are likely to have a better standard of living than our parents, and a much better standard of living than our grandparents. This is mainly the result of increased productivity, so that an hour of work produces more goods and services than it used to.Thus, incomes have continuously risen over time, as has the standard of living. If Americans save more and it leads to more spending on factories, there will be an increase in production and productivity, because the same number of workers will have more equipment to work with. The benefits from higher productivity will go to both the workers, who will get paid more because they are producing more, and the factory owners, who will get a return on their investments. There is no such thing as a free lunch, however, because when people save more, they are giving up spending. They get higher incomes at the cost of buying fewer goods.To make an intelligent decision about whether to reduce inflation, a policymaker would need to know what causes inflation and unemployment, as well as what determines the trade-off between them. This means that the policymaker needs to unders tand how households and firms will adjust to a decrease in the money supply. How much will spending decline? How much will firms lower output? Any attempt to reduce inflation will likely lead to higher unemployment in the short run. A policymaker thus faces a trade-off between the benefits of lower inflation compared to the cost of higher unemployment. Answers will vary. 15. 16. 17.