Michael Collins leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Michael Collins leadership - Assignment Example Michael Collin’s approach to leading the region is task oriented.   This means he prioritize and values the task or job more than his relationship with his people.   In his visit to the region, the orientation of his leadership is revealed where he cared less about the people and is more concern about tasks related concern such as the length of service, what they like about the company, areas of improvement and corporate culture.   In addition, Michael Collins also described himself as a Renaissance man who could do a lot of things but gets impatient with people.   I thought of Michael Collin’s leadership orientation as task oriented because he perceive the importance of job in terms of tasks and not of people.     If Michael Collin is a people oriented leader, he would have enjoyed his visit and interaction with his workers.  Ã‚   He would have differed in his assessment of his people where he would find the engagement more fruitful when his people truste d him enough to share frank information about the company and their job.   He would have asked how his people are feeling not only about their job but also with their coworkers and their boss.   I did not think Michael Collins as people oriented leader because he did not value much their opinion and suspected their motive.3.  How might an understanding of individualized leadership be useful to Collins with respect to his relationship with marketing versus store personnel?   Individualized leadership is a leadership whereby the leader has a strong interpersonal relationship.

Who or what is the main beneficiary of globalization Essay

Who or what is the main beneficiary of globalization - Essay Example These years have as well observed a complete alteration within the former centrally designed nations of Europe. At the same time, globalization has been connected with a number of other alterations, for instance, industrial growth, moderation and deregulation. It is rather impractical to divide the economic impacts of globalization, yet distinct, from those of the earlier issues. There is the additional complexity starting from the time period during which the analysis is completes. The instantaneous as well as interim impacts may become extremely different from those of the average as well as long-standing. Regardless of these requirements, it is essential to stress that the processes of globalization are likely to generate certain socio-economic effects (Boudreaux, p. 65, 2007). Focusing initially on the economic impacts, along with the key concerns are the outcomes of globalization on competence, development and circulation. It is apparent that globalization has supported competen ce benefits in a number of ways. Static benefits increase whenever market alterations are condensed or removed. Globalization has been linked with comprehensive lessening in obstacles to the movement of goods, services in addition to parts of production. The bigger competition caused by globalization has as well formed active competence benefits via enhancements in administration as well as technology. Similarly, the substitution of state ventures by private companies has resulted in competence benefits. The value of competence benefits is obviously bigger when they take place during times of complete use of resources than when they just increase unemployment and surplus capacity. The concurrence of globalization with financial catastrophe and stagnation has intended that in the majority of nations the competence benefits because of better resource distribution seem to have highlighted the issues of poverty, unemployment as well as discrimination (Scholte, p. 344, 2005). Increased c ompetition, nationwide, as well as worldwide, possibly works in the similar direction for the majority of nations. A raise in the pace as well as level of resource flows, development of trade as well as internationalization of manufacturing can be likely to have substantial effects on revenue distribution. Nations that are successful in drawing foreign resources, savings and technology, and in enhancing growth of output as well as exports, are likely to experience increasing employment and earnings, and perhaps lessening in discrimination. On the other extreme, less competitive plus more unsound nations may go through from outflows of resources, savings, expertise and free enterprise. They possibly get trapped in a descending spiral of manufacturing, employment as well as salaries, worsening both poverty as well as discrimination (Lechner & Boli, p. 391, 2003). The general impact of these alterations is expected to be harmful on the lower class in most nations. In the industrialized nations, employment as well as earnings is stressed from three sources: 1. Bigger competition internally and from a foreign country 2. Industrial development 3. Internationalization of production The fortune of the lower class in the industrialized nations would be even poor if there were no constraints on labour resettlement. Similarly, owners of several small and medium sized ventures may endure bigger nationwide as well as worldwide competition. The main beneficiaries from globalization are individual human beings. Every year, more or less 6 million new companies are being formed around the

Privatisation On Life Insurance Corporation Of India Economics Essay

Privatisation On Life Insurance Corporation Of India Economics Essay With the advent of new players in the field of Life insurance sector, the degree of competition has increased multifold. The private insurance companies are launching new innovative insurance plans for their survival and growth. At the same time, Life Insurance Corporation of India has upgraded their quality of service to retain, maintain and attract new business. An attempt has been made to study the impact of privatization on LIC. The Development Officers were contacted to know their observations about the impact of privatization on their life insurance business and their views as how their life insurance business has been influenced by the opening of the sector. LIC has made a lot of changes in its operation and latest technology is being used to serve the customer. The customer grievances are properly attended and all maturity claims are settled to the entire satisfaction of the policyholders. The privatization of the sector has brought lot of opportunities for all the players. Under such situation, fittest of the fit will survive and the rest will vanish over a period of time. In the year 2000, when the insurance sector was privatized, many companies entered into the insurance sector and as a result competition has increased multifold. Initially, most of the private life insurance companies spent huge amount of money on advertisement. The purpose of the advertisement was to inform the public about their existence and the importance of life insurance policies in human life. With the rise in the degree of competition among the life insurance companies in India, the companies realized the need of developing new life insurance policy plans which can satisfy the multi needs of policyholders and as a result, the concept of riders were introduced. New channels of distributions have been introduced which have been economical and effective in serving the public. NEED FOR THE STUDY With the privatization of the insurance sector, efforts have been made by the government to regulate the business of insurance through Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority ( IRDA). IRDA has formulated various guidelines to bring transparency in the working and make the system customer friendly. As a result, most of the companies are practicing Customer Relationship strategies to keep their customers delighted. Keeping in view such changes in the insurance sector, a need is felt to find out as what is the change in the attitude of general public before and after the Privatization. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY This study is an attempt to find out the impact of privatization on Life Insurance Corporation of India. The basic purpose of conducting this study includes: To find out the difference in the attitude of general public before and after the Privatization. To analyse the LIC business procurement in terms of First Premium Income (FPI) over the last 4 years. To study the attitude of Development Officers towards impact of privatization on their insurance business RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A descriptive study on the General Public and Development Officers have been undertaken to find out the answers to the objectives of the study. The study has been conducted in the selected cities of Haryana viz. Ambala Cantt, Ambala City, Kurukshetra Panipat, Karnal, Yamuna Nagar, Panchkula and Jagadhari. A structured questionnaire has been framed with multiple answers and their views have been noted and analysed to draw important conclusions. TYPE OF DATA COLLECTED Both primary and secondary data has been used to study the impact of privatization on Life Insurance Corporation of India. Primary data has been collected from General Public and Development Officers through structured questionnaire where as secondary data has been collected from the IRDA journal(s) pertaining to the FPI of life Insurance Corporation of India over the last 4 years. SAMPLING TECHNIQUES Stratified random sampling technique has been used in the study. Out of the eight cities selected for the study, 50 respondents from general public, representing different stratas of the society have been included. Similarly, 35 Development Officers from each city have been chosen on snow ball sampling basis. HYPOTHESIS H o Privatisation of the Insurance Sector has adversely affected the working of LIC. H a Privatisation of the Insurance Sector has favourably affected the working of LIC Ho After the privatisation, whether your business as Development Officer has been adversely affected? H a After the privatisation, whether your business as Development Officer has been favorably affected? DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS PERFORMANCE OF LIC IN TERMS OF FIRST PREMIUM INCOME (FPI) Table 1.1: Comparative Analysis of Business Performance of LIC in terms of FPI Name of LIC ZONE with FPI IN 2006-2007 FPI IN 2007-2008 Growth Rate in %age 2007-2008 FPI IN 2008-2009 Growth Rate in%age 2008-2009 FPI IN 2009-2010 Growth rate in %age 2009-2010 North Zone 862124.66 808943.20 -6.17 637302.71 -21.22 767438.31 20.42 North Central 463995.25 481078.84 3.68 384078.36 -20.16 493495.89 28.49 Central Zone 251776.58 210294.93 -16.48 183249.12 -12.86 226104.41 23.39 East Central Zone 261215.49 296291.15 13.43 262577.04 -11.38 310326.43 18.18 Eastern Zone 342181.75 410185.77 19.87 391795.29 -4.48 526284.19 34.33 South Central 596867.00 581365.08 -2.60 448089.37 -22.92 532827.32 18.91 Southern Zone 586241.87 855150.87 45.87 453414.89 -46.98 553047.49 21.97 Western Zone 589755.23 737975.93 25.13 771614.08 4.56 886520.29 14.89 TOTAL FIGURE 3954157.83 4381285.77 10.80 3532120.86 -19.38 4296044.33 21.63 Table 1.1 clearly shows that there was increase and decrease in most of the zones of LIC except the Western zone which made a consistent increase in the business from 2006-2007 to 2009-2010. The performance of all the zones were better during the financial year 2009-2010 as all the Eight zones have shown a positive growth rate. The maximum business in terms of FPI from the Western Zone followed by North zone and Southern zone. Eastern zone made the maximum growth rate of 34.33 % during the financial year 2009-2010. QUESTION-1: A question was asked to the General public ( 50 IN EACH CITY) about their future intentions to buy any life insurance plan and which insurance company will they prefer Table1.2: Interest of the General Public to purchase insurance Respondents interested to insure LIC Other Companies City Ambala Cantt. Count 18 4 % within City 81.8% 18.2% Ambala City Count 13 3 % within City 81.3% 18.8% Kurukshetra Count 14 0 % within City 100.0% .0% Panipat Count 14 3 % within City 82.4% 17.6% Karnal Count 10 2 % within City 83.3% 16.7% Yamuna Nagar Count 9 3 % within City 75.0% 25.0% Panchkula Count 11 5 % within City 68.8% 31.3% Jagadhari Count 9 3 % within City 75.0% 25.0% Total Count 98 23 % within City 81.0% 19.0% Chi-Square Tests Value df Pearson Chi-Square 5.477a 7 Likelihood Ratio 7.866 7 Linear-by-Linear Association 2.124 1 N of Valid Cases 280 a. 8 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1.63. 81% respondents like to get insured by having LIC policy, Chi square significance is .001, which suggests that data is significantly related. QUESTION-2: After the privatisation of the insurance sector, whether your business ( Development Officer) has been affected? Table 1.3: Effect of privatization on the business Business has increased or decreased Increase Stable City Ambala Cantt. Count 33 2 % within City 94.3% 5.7% Ambala City Count 31 4 % within City 88.6% 11.4% Kurukshetra Count 34 1 % within City 97.1% 2.9% Panipat Count 33 2 % within City 94.3% 5.7% Karnal Count 34 1 % within City 97.1% 2.9% Yamuna Nagar Count 33 2 % within City 94.3% 5.7% Panchkula Count 35 0 % within City 100.0% .0% Jagadhari Count 34 1 % within City 97.1% 2.9% Total Count 267 13 % within City 95.4% 4.6% Chi-Square Tests Value df Pearson Chi-Square 6.373a 7 Likelihood Ratio 7.084 7 Linear-by-Linear Association 2.392 1 N of Valid Cases 280 a. 8 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1.63. From the above table it is clear that business of the LIC has increased (95.4%). Chi square significance is .003, which suggests that data is significantly related. QUESTION-3: Do you think that privatization of Insurance sector is a sign of growth for You as Development Officer and for LIC as a whole? Table1.4: Relationship between privatization and growth for LIC privatization of business sector is a sign of growth for LIC Yes No No Comments City Ambala Cantt. Count 33 2 0 % within City 94.3% 5.7% .0% Ambala City Count 32 1 2 % within City 91.4% 2.9% 5.7% Kurukshetra Count 29 2 4 % within City 82.9% 5.7% 11.4% Panipat Count 34 1 0 % within City 97.1% 2.9% .0% Karnal Count 34 0 1 % within City 97.1% .0% 2.9% Yamuna Nagar Count 33 2 0 % within City 94.3% 5.7% .0% Panchkula Count 35 0 0 % within City 100.0% .0% .0% Jagadhari Count 32 2 1 % within City 91.4% 5.7% 2.9% Total Count 262 10 8 % within City 93.6% 3.6% 2.9% Chi-Square Tests Value df Pearson Chi-Square 19.118a 14 Likelihood Ratio 21.221 14 Linear-by-Linear Association 1.386 1 N of Valid Cases 280 a. 16 cells (66.7%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1.00. According to 93.6% respondents, privatization is a growth sign for LIC. Chi square significance is .002, which suggests that data is significantly related. From the above analysis it is seen that there is hardly any impact of privatization on the business of LIC. Hence hypothesis H0 is Rejected, which shows that the business of LIC has been affected by privatization but it has positive impact on the business of LIC, hence we accept the alternate Hypothesis.. FINDINGS On the basis of the study undertaken on General Public and Development Officers, some important observations are appended below Corporate Active Data Warehouse (CADW): LICs CADW is one of the largest life insurance customer database in the world. The project has enabled LIC to launch Customer focused campaign like Customer Contact Program and Global Club Customer Campaigns launched in the various A Class cities during the year 2009-2010. The major achievement has been to send a single notice for the premium falling due in the same month for the various policies of an individual policyholder. All these initiatives launched have made the brand of LIC more visible in the eyes of the policyholders and public in general. New channels for premium payment: More channels have been added to facilitate the renewal premium payment by the policyholders. Major addition is in the form of creating PREMIUM POINTS where policyholders can deposit the premium 24*7 and can get a final receipt from the office of the empowered LIC agents who are spread across the country. More than 5000 such empowered agents are authorized to provide this service to policyholders. Apart from this, 350 satellite offices have been opened in various cities to give the feel of physical presence of LIC. Enterprise Document Management System: LIC has implemented EDMS in its offices to digitize the customers an Office records. EDMS has been done to get the advantage in terms of Enabling the concept of anywhere-anytime service through electronic files. To make documents and files available to multiple users simultaneously. To eliminate the need to transfer paper records from one branch to another branch. Electronic Bill Presentation and Payment (EBPP): Premium can be paid through various banks like City Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Federal Bank, Corporation Bank, Axis Bank and other service providers-Bill Desk and Tech Process which cover almost all other banks throughout the country. Premium can be paid through credit card also. Premium can also be made through ATM card and EBPP. Premium can be deposited for the in force policies only and which are not with monthly or salary saving schemes. Customer Grievance Redressal Management: LIC has grievance redressal officers at Branch/Divisional/Zonal/Central office to redress the grievances of policyholders and for bringing transparency in the operations. IT enabled support system have been operationalised to reduce manual intervention and to minimize the grievances. For quick redressal of grievances, LIC has introduced a customer friendly Complaint Management System through customer portal where the policyholder can directly register any complaint/ grievance/quarry and track its status anytime without going anywhere. CONCLUSION The performance of LIC during the year 2006 to 2010 indicates that there has been tremendous amount of potential in the insurance business. It is hoped that the spark ignited by the leading insurance company shall be carried forward by all the players and they will generate phenomenal business and fulfills the social obligation to the society. With the privatization of the insurance sector, the degree of competition has increased and as a result, the service standard of insurance companies has improved beyond imagination. In the present set up of life insurance organisations, Development Officer is the most important functionary of the organisation. The major life insurance business is procured through agents who are supervised by their respective DOs. An agent is the representative of the company who has the maximum interaction with the General public and persuades the prospects to purchase insurance policy. The agents should be well trained so that the general public can be made aw are about the importance of the concept of life insurance. In the recent past, most of the agents of the life insurance companies are offered lucrative incentives so that the sales force can be always be set in high spirit. In India, insurance market is open, only fittest of the fit will survive.LIC is an old trusted brand, it has to launch new policy plans which can satisfy the multi needs of the public. At the same time, LIC has to train and develop its employees so that they can serve the customer with full commitment and dedication. In short, privatization has favorably affected the LIC organization which has resulted into the improvement in the overall operations of LIC.

tragoed Metamorphosis of the Tragedy in Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, and Desir

Metamorphosis of the Tragedy in Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, and Desire Under the Elms Tragedy is considered by many to be the greatest of the genres. Often something goes wrong and exposes something great. Characters generally have more depth as evidenced by Hamlet. Tragedy shows up in the great periods of history: Classical Greece, Renaissance, and the early 20th century. It is a far more complex genre than comedy or romance. It teaches people to think since the storylines never have a simple answer or resolution. We see this in Desire Under the Elms. Family relationships and inheritances are complicated and even when Abbie kills the baby, Eben decides to join her in her guilty plea when he is clearly not a participant in the murder. Unlike comedy, there is less spectacle onstage. Iokaste hangs herself offstage, King Hamlet's murder is only reenacted but not seen directly, and the audience doesn't see Abbie murder her baby. This forces or allows the audience members to use their imaginations to envision these crucial scenes, adding a layer of complexity t o the play. Hamlet we are reminded of fate by the line, "There's a divinity that shapes our ends." Then in Desire, Cabot consistently looked to God for direction. These situations don't allow us to remain passive and simply be entertained when we view tragedy. We must grapple with the tough issues of life. Â   Plot is considered significant in tragedy for many reasons. . Plot examines the limits of human greatness. It is the most examined area in the study of literature probably because it is unique to humans. It can be both edifying for an audience and, at the same time, allow for a catharsis. Plot allows characters to play out their fate. Freud believe... ...e less class conscious, the need for high status of one man disappears. In Desire the hero(es) were farmers. Â   Another way that tragedy has evolved is through more comedy being added to the tragedy. Oedipus has no real comic scenes. Hamlet had a few, but Desire had evidence of comedy sprinkled throughout by way of the brothers, the dance, food and drink, and animal references. Tragedy also had evolved to the point of having more romance. Again romance was missing from Oedipus, we saw a bit more in Hamlet between Claudius and Gertrude and Hamlet and Ophelia. But then in the modern tragedy romance is at the center of the play, albeit an uncomfortable, complicated romance. Some example in the play Desire include: the sexual advances, the kiss and walk away together, the reuniting at the end, stage directions that describe the physical appearance. Â  

Ptlls Assessment 1

Describe what your role, responsibilities and boundaries as a teacher would be in terms of teaching/training cycle. What is the teaching/training cycle? How is it relevant to what teachers do? What are teachers’ responsibilities to their learners? I. e. keeping up to date in subject area, awareness of codes of conduct, preparing sessions, keep records etc. An awareness of how not doing this might affect your learners What is a teacher role? What are teachers’ contractual obligations? Understanding of IFL’s code of practice What are boundaries of what teachers can do and can’t do? I. e. ersonal boundaries with leaners, management demands, professionalism, deadlines etc.? The teaching/training cycle is a process, which identifies needs, planning, delivery, assessments and evaluation in each the responsibilities, role, and boundaries; all have an element of the training cycle, each works hand in hand, I am going to give a definition of each, and how each has an element of the training cycle. The responsibilities of a teacher to be a member of the institute of learning (ifl), have had carried out a CRB check, an understanding of organisational policies and procedures. Understanding issues of equality, diversity and inclusion. It’s a teacher duty to be a source of information regarding accessing grants and funding opportunities, and in full support and promotion of the programme they are teaching. Always making sure that the student/learner is on the right learning path, to be able to advise and give guidance, and referring to other organisations or agencies if the need arises. Or talk, to other professionals, on the behalf of their leaners. Keeping accurate records of everything that is agreed between them and the student. And being able to maintain confidentiality at all times. The role of a teacher is to always think of their learners as ‘all different but all equal’. (Kenny Fredrick’s George Green Annual Report 1997) To create a simulating environment for the leaner, offering an advancement of progress. To assess leaners either by oral or written testing, one to one or within a group learning, this also enables the teacher to plan the lessons, and preparing any teaching materials, and any differentiation that needs to be added to any scheme of work, to the level of their learners. The teacher has a duty of care to their learners and have the responsibility to follow the organisations polices and ethics, and to introduce to their learner to this information, a teacher should be in full support of the organisation, by attending meetings, complying to all administrative tasks such as schemes of marking, attendance records and maintaining records of learners progress, (of interviews, tutorials, assessments, exams etc. ) To act appropriately at all times. A teacher is to always evaluate themselves and their delivery of the subject. You will have professional boundaries within which to work and it’s important not to overstep these. ’ (Gravells, 2010: 11) As a teacher there are boundaries of course, because of working with people, people begin to think as you a friend and not just a teacher, boundaries should not be crossed, always make sure the student knows where he stands with you, ground rules are a must, always giving clear objectives and achievabl e aims. A teacher is to act professionally at all times, and maintain absolute confidentiality at all times. References Kenny Fredrick’s – George Green’s – Annual Report 1997 Gravells, 2010: 11

A History Of The World In Six Glasses

That includes not mixing beer with water. The Greeks always drank wine mixed with water to not become drunk so easily. They also did that to clean the water because wine contained natural antibacterial agents made during fermentation. 3. Describe what is meant by the following quote and provide evidence. â€Å"Wine was Wee Tit' â€Å"Wine was wealth† means that wine was an accurate representation of ones wealth and status. For example, property-owning classes in Athens were categorized based on their vineyard holdings. Also, wine made Greece and people rich. One of Grace's major exports included wine.Another example is that farmers could earn xx more cultivating vines opposed to growing grain. Finally, wine was portrayed on coins in Greece. 4. Describe the symposium a. What was it? The symposium was a formal drinking party in Greece. They were venues for playful but adversarial discussion. Having this reminded the Greeks on how civilized they were. B. How was it ritualistic? The symposium was ritualistic. One example of that was sometimes after the symposium was the Samos. It was a ritual where members of a drinking group (hetaeras) would go onto the streets to show how strong and tightly ended the group was. C.How did it illustrate Greek culture? The symposium illustrated Greek culture because it was a place where they could show off one's intelligence. This shows how Greeks regarded themselves as civilized and everyone else was not. It was also just a place where friends would go to hang out and drink. 5. To what extent was the symposium a suitable venue for getting at the truth? Explain Wine makes people less conscious and aware of surroundings. This means that people will more likely speak the truth because many times people will lie to not get in trouble. The Greeks knew this and therefore many debates happened while they were drinking wine. . Compare and Contrast the use of wine in Greece and Rome. (Provide any combination of three similarities an d differences) The use of wine in Greece and Rome were similar in some ways. First, wine was an important part of life for both people; it was a universal staple drink. They both believed in drinking wine in a civilized manner. Both included mixing wine with water. Also, wine was a factor in determining wealth. The rich in both places drank wine that was very limited. The final similarity in the SE of wine shared by Greece and Rome was where they drank it.Although the Symposium (Greece) and the Conniving (Rome) were different in the specifics that went on, they were both places where people went to hang out and drink some wine. The use of wine in Greece and Rome were different in some ways. For example, in Greece wine was a luxury. However, in Rome it was a necessity. The way Romans differentiated the rich and the poor was by the content of their goblets and their ability to name fine wines. The ability to name fine wines showed that they were able to afford those wines. Finally, th e Karate, which was a large vase used to mix water and wine, was rarely used in Rome.The Karate was used often during Greek symposiums. The man in Rome would mix it himself So the need for the Karate was unnecessary. 7. How was wine associated with Christianity? Provide evidence. Wine was associated with Christianity for a few reasons. First of all, a Roman soldier offered Jesus Christ a sponge dipped in wine during his crucifixion. Also according to the bible, Chrism's first miracle was the transformation of 6 jars of water into wine. Christ also offered wine to his disciples at the last upper, which led to the role of wine in Eucharist.Eucharist was a Christian ritual where bread & wine symbolizes Jesus Chrism's body and blood. 8. Explain and analyze change and continuity in the use Of wine from the classical Mediterranean world to today. Even today, there is still much continuity in the use of wine from the classical Mediterranean world. One example is that wine contain uses to b e regarded as vote most civilized drink. The symposium and conniving has now evolved into the modern suburban dinner party. A similarity in what goes on in a symposium and a modern dinner party sis they both fuel intelligent concussion.This includes science, politics, math etc. Even now, the host chooses the wine and how expensive it is due to the importance of the occasion and social standing. There are some changes in the use of wine from the classical Mediterranean world to today. Countries that drink the most wine in the world would have been regarded as barbarians by Greece and Rome. These countries include Germany, Austria, and Belgium etc. Another change is the accessibility of wine. Wine is extremely abundant nowadays and today every one of every social standing can easily obtain wine.

buy custom Asthma Guideline essay

buy custom Asthma Guideline essay Asthma refers to a disorder that causes the airways of the lungs to narrow because of swelling, which leads to shortness of breath, coughing, chest tightness, use of accessory muscle, and wheezing (Clark, 2011). The walls of the airways become extremely sensitive and, thus, they may react strongly to those substances the victim finds irritating. Inflammations of the airways occur after the allergic reactions. The airways may become narrow to the extent of developing difficulties with breathing, especially at night or early in the morning, because of low temperatures (Levy Weller, 2006). When the feelings become worse than normal, the victims experience an asthma attack, which can lead to death, because the vital organs may fail to function due to insufficient oxygen supply (Clark, 2011). This paper will consider the causes, symptoms, epidemiology and treatment of asthma. Causes of Asthma The cause of asthma is not apparent, but there is evidence that a number of factors may play a part (Clark, 2011). They include genetic factors, environmental factors, dietary changes, lack of exercise, and occupational exposure. However, the causes of asthma vary from an individual to another. Research has shown that many victims of asthma inherit the disorder from their parents. Many asthmatics also possess other allergic conditions like rhinitis, which is the inflammation of the nose lining (Clark, 2011). A number of children in hygienic Western nations tend to develop astha because they lack exposure to bacterial infections that induce the immune system early in life (Levy Weller, 2006). Earlier exposure to bacterial infections may be significant in directing the immune system away from allergic reactions. Such children grow up in well-furnished, carpeted, warm homes that do not allow sufficient ventilation, which accelerates the breeding of house dust mites in carpets, furnishings, and beddings. When children spend most of their time indoors, they may develop dust mite sensitization (Crockett, A. 2003). Other environmental factors include exposure to tobacco smoke, especially in early childhood or during pregnancy (Levy Weller, 2006). Changes in diet, such as a higher salt intake, high proportions of processed foods, lack of fresh oily fish, and lower antioxidant intake may put individuals at a risk of developing asthmatic symptoms (Clark, 2011). Reduced exercises may also lead to asthma because the muscles in the airway walls tend to undergo abnormal contraction due to exposure to minor irritants (Levy Weller, 2006). Many adults develop asthma because of occupational exposure. The irritants in the workplace may include dusts, chemicals, pollens, and moulds, which individuals can encounter in industries such as farming, woodworking, baking, spray painting of cars, and chemical production (Clark, 2011). Symptoms of Asthma The common symptoms that asthmatics develop include shortness of breath, coughing, chest tightness, use of accessory muscle, andd wheezing (Clark, 2011). These symptoms are usually serious in the early morning and at night, or in response to cold air and exercises. Some asthmatics rarely experience serious symptoms of asthma, whereas others may have pronounced continued airflow obstruction (Levy Weller, 2006). Epidemiology of Asthma Research has shown that in childhood, asthma commonly affects male children younger than five years of age (Clark, 2011). Incidences of asthma among individuals during adulthood do not depend on sex. The preference of asthma appears to differ by socioeconomic status and between certain races. For instance, the prevalence of asthma is greater in African Americans than it is in Caucasians, but this is not significant (Clark, 2011). Individuals living below poverty level tend to experience more asthma as compared to those individuals living above this level (Clark, 2011). Treatment of Asthma The main treatments for asthma include preventers and relievers (Levy Weller, 2006). This is due to the fact that asthma is incurable. These treatments can either be long-term medications or quick-relief. Quick-relief medications are useful in reversing the acute asthma by relaxing the bronchial smooth muscle. The long-term medications enable asthmatics to maintain control of persistent symptoms. Asthmatics inhale the medication through the mouth, directly into the lungs (Levy Weller, 2006). Buy custom Asthma Guideline essay

Spectator Ion Definition and Examples

Spectator Ion Definition and Examples Ions are atoms or molecules that carry a net electrical charge. There are different types of ions, including cations, anions, and spectator ions. Spectator Ion Definition A spectator ion is an ion that exists in the same form on both the reactant and product sides of a chemical reaction. Spectator ions may be either cations (positively-charged ions) or anions (negatively-charged ions). The ion is unchanged on both sides of a chemical equation and does not affect equilibrium. When writing a net ionic equation, spectator ions found in the original equation are ignored. Thus, the total ionic reaction is different from the net chemical reaction. Spectator Ion Examples Consider the reaction between sodium chloride (NaCl) and copper sulfate (CuSO4) in aqueous solution. 2 NaCl (aq) CuSO4 (aq) → 2 Na (aq) SO42- (aq) CuCl2 (s) The ionic form of this reaction is: 2 Na (aq) 2 Cl- (aq) Cu2 (aq) SO42- (aq) → 2 Na (aq) SO42- (aq) CuCl2 (s) The sodium ions and sulfate ion are the spectator ions in this reaction. They appear unchanged in both the product and reactant side of the equation. These ions just spectate while the other ions form the copper chloride. These ions are canceled out of a reaction to write the net ionic equation, so the net ionic equation for this example would be: 2 Cl- (aq) Cu2 (aq)  Ã¢â€ â€™ CuCl2 (s) Although spectator ions are ignored in the net reaction, they affect the Debye length. Table of Common Spectator Ions These ions are spectator ions because they dont react with water, so when soluble compounds of these ions dissolve in water, they wont directly affect pH and can be ignored. While you can consult a table, it worthwhile to memorize the common spectator ions because knowing them makes it easier to identify strong acids, strong bases, and neutral salts in a chemical reaction. The easiest way to learn them is in groups of three or trios of ions found together on the periodic table of the elements.

Boivail case

First, Persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists. We can see that there must be an arrangement between Avail and distributor. Second, the sellers price to the buyer is fixed or determinable.Third, collegiality is reasonably assured. Fourth, Delivery has occurred or services have been rendered. From here, we could recognize revenue of the company according to FOB. FOB shipping point, title to the property rangers to the buyer when it leaves the shipping dock and therefore revenue should be recognized at that point. With FOB destination, title does not transfer to the buyer until they receive the goods and thus revenue is not recognized until that point 3. How does the accident affect the stated revenues under different FOB contract structures? Explain your reasoning? If Avail recognizes revenues when the product leaves Violas FOB shipping point then revenue should be recognized at that point. Therefore, the truck accident would have had no impact on Violas third quarter uncial results because the title to the product and the risk associated with the accident would have passed to the Distributor as soon as the truck left Violas. Then, overstating revenues and net income on financial statement should not have happened. However, Distributor mentioned that they recognized the distribution as FOB destination then revenue will only be received by Avail until goods arrived at the point, so if Avail recognizes revenue when the product has reached the Distributors FOB destination it has recognized revenue when it has been earned and ill accurately state revenues and net income on its financial statements. 4.Are you concerned about the companys treatment of analysts who cover the stock? Would you want to be an analyst covering this company? Yes, I am concerned especially about the downgraded stock recommendation that was given to Avail. However, I would not be an analyst covering the company because there were too many misleading information in the company that would cause me as analyst to formulate wrong decision. Moreover, it might also ruin my reputation as analyst if I formulated wrong decision.

Family Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Family Structure - Essay Example As the study outlines   from among all these, the newborn baby is the one who is least affected in the new structure because he or she is the one taken cared for while everyone starts being responsible for him or her. Speaking of the new parents, the mother and the father are affected greatly by their newborn child not only in terms of the physical demands they should fulfill such as not getting enough sleep and having to tolerate the constant crying but at the same time cause a change in their lifestyle, the dreams they pursue, responsibilities, purchase behavior, and even how they interact socially. This is because of the fact that a newborn poses a lot of responsibilities not only financially but at the same will require a lot of sacrifices such as re-managing one’s priorities to achieve a balance between providing for one’s family’s needs and at the same time giving oneself a little leeway for a little fun time. This paper highlights that what is unique to mothers of a newborn would be the fact that they usually feel neglected or perhaps feel like they are missed out a lot in life because of the routine activity she is confined in from not only taking care of the baby but at the same time her other children if there are and of course, we cannot miss out on her responsibility to her husband which makes her lose time and energy to pamper herself. On the other hand, fathers constantly face the pressure to work longer hours and earn more to be able to provide for his family’s increasing needs. A newborn baby would greatly affect their siblings as well. This is because of the fact that children have the tendency to be possessive with their parent’s attention and time especially when they were used to being the only one.  

Database security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Database security - Essay Example is is not done, then databases are subjected to several threats that could lead to loss of integrity, loss of availability, and loss of confidentiality (IFIP, 2013). Privacy protection is both a personal and fundamental right for any individual. It is the right of every individual to hold the expectation that organizations that collect information will ensure confidentiality of personal information. One way in which this can be achieved is by ensuring that organizations will collect, maintain, utilize, and disseminate personal information and data only to the extent that is necessary to enable them perform their functions (Doyle & Bagaric, 2005). Privacy laws regulate how entities handle personal information. They also include obligations that govern the collection, use, disclosure, and access to personal information, requiring entities to observe reasonable measures for the protection of personal information in their possession from misuse, loss and from unauthorized access, use, modification or disclosure. The NIST triad for privacy is set under the above set of requirements for privacy. It is a model for information security that incorporates three main components namely confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Each of these components in the triad stresses a key objective for information security. Confidentiality requires that data is only availed to appropriate parties, integrity means the certainty that there is no tampering with the data prior to and after collection, and availability means that the data will be made available as and when needed (Nemati, 2008). IFIP TC11/WG 11.3 International Conference on Database Security, & In Jajodia, S. (2013). Database security XII: Status and prospects : IFIP TC11 WG11.3 Twelfth International Working Conference on Database Security, July 15-17, 1998, Chalkidiki,

Value Added Tax Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Value Added Tax - Essay Example The concern for the measure is not limited to its monetary or financial impacts on trade and commerce but also in the overall all competitiveness of industries and markets. The objective of this paper is to be able to assess current opinion regarding the VAT measures and determine areas of concern. The opinion of various stakeholders on the issue, EU objectives and the state of global markets will also be taken into consideration. The paper will then conclude with a summation of the issues that dominate current discussion and weigh the legitimacy of projections on the issue. Lszl Kovcs' opening statement to the 2006 Joint Conference forum of the European Commission (EC) and the European Banking Federation (EBF) regarding the modernization of the VAT Rules for Financial Services and Insurances, acknowledged the interest of the issue to a number of sectors and industries. He reiterates to the assembly that the reviews of the VAT rules are motivated by the desire to simplify them to enhance and unify pan-European trade, particularly financial services (Tabellini 2003). ... n the assessment done by the 1973 Hutchinson Report: objections raised against the directive were concerned the lack of actual infrastructures to facilitate the application of the measures which impairs consumer credit levels. In response to the challenges of determining taxable amounts and VAT deductions in these industries, the industries were given exemptions due to the lack accounting and fiscal methods to implement measures. The lack of capacity was not based on the lack of fiscal or accounting skills but rather on the lack of justification of administrative charges and the complication of legal and accounting jurisprudence. It was only in the middles of the 1990's that efforts to implement full taxation were picked up. The Commission together with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) determined that it was possible to charge VAT using cash flow methods of financial services, known as the truncated cash flow method (TCA). Technical feasibility tests were conducted in financial institutions and yielded within acceptable parameters as well. Using the system, there would be no VAT or zero rating on business-to-business (B2B) transactions and will be considered as customer charges in business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. However, there was still opinion that the systems was still to complex for actual implementation and migration to TCA was inhibitive because of the cost. In response to these continuing concerns, the Commission has identified three key issues for resolution (EC 2006, pp. 3-4): 1. Mitigation of administrative cost of implementation and fiscal supervision for economic operation and fiscal compliance 2. Establishment of related budget security and legal certainty for Member States and economic operators respectively 3.

Supply Chain Information Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Supply Chain Information Management - Assignment Example This paper evaluates the Amazon’s distribution channel and its evolution. Amazon started in 1994 as a book store that was launched by Jeff Bezos and it took its shape of the Amazon.com since then. Notably, Amazon was initiated on a value proposition anchored on four dimensions. The four dimensions helped Jeff Bezos to focus on service to the customer, the price, selection and the convenience of the products and services it would offer online. The Amazon online inventory consisted of many items and this offered the customers a wide range of choices as compared to any physical store. Moreover, the website was constructed such that it kept the download period very low while offering platforms for reviews that were later used for its improvement. Originally, the online store was constructed such that customers for books would be satisfied by being supplied from the warehouse of Amazon while it enjoyed its benefit of time and cost efficiencies. As such, the Amazon built several ten warehouses that were situated in ten states with least or no tax for sales (Jansen, Bernard, Amanda & Isak 2009). Amazon would then order books from the warehouses after customers had agreed to pay for them and hence low return costs. After a period of time, the Amazon warehouses were increased worldwide and also the number of products stored in the warehouses increased. The products in the warehouse were well kept and computerized so that the number lines of a product in the warehouse matched those of the product stocked online. When a customer ordered a product, for example, a book, automatically the order mentioned the title of the product and then a barcode. As a result of this process, computers would then signal the workers that a particular product was not supposed to be on the shelf and then they would verify the order and pick it for parceling. Currently, the distribution channel

Managed Care and Psychotherapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Managed Care and Psychotherapy - Essay Example It rapidly spread to health insurance industry in private sector. It relies upon and effort to control ever increasing health care costs by health insurance industry, which fixes a reasonable fee. Health care provides charge for their services. Thanks to managed care facilities provided by health insurance industry, medical inflation rate decreased drastically in 1990's in U.S. But right now the effect looks like it has ended abruptly and U.S. medical inflation is beginning to rise steeply. Psychotherapy in its traditional form is being challenged due to managed care pressures. Managed care is not needful for psychiatric patients as it creates many hindrances to the consumer in the early steps of treatment. Managed care makes the psychotherapy sessions completely transparent, when it is supposed to be undisclosed. There are pros and cons. Managed care in psychotherapy is significantly a bane to the consumers. Psychotherapy always requires long number of sessions but due to pressure from insurance companies, psychotherapists reduce the number of sessions. It is the indirect supervision of the financial management of a consumer's medical care performed by the ultimate reimbursement entity, commonly known as the payer.' Payers use utilization review'-a medical professional oversees the treating physician's decisions to determine if the most financially efficient method is being used. In the optimistic view, managed care offers coordinated, integrated systems of care that emphasize prevention and cost restraints. But actually managed care leads to limited access, lack of choice and, sometimes, limitation of care. O'Hara, M. (1997) reports: Nowhere are the concrete consequences of the rising levels of cultural incoherence more visible than within the community of psychotherapists. Therapeutic psychology and its spin-offs, clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, psychiatric nursing, and organizational behavior, are disintegrating as academic disciplines and as fields of professional practice. The field of psychology and the individuals who inhabit it are in the midst of theoretical, epistemological, methodological, and ethical meltdown. Pluralism in graduate school training, discussions about licensing and credentialing, variations in clinical theory and practice, debates about the status of psychological knowledge as science and as evidence in courts of law, shifting definitions of ethical and unethical behavior, and proliferation of antitherapist consumer protection laws are just some of the ways the postmodern crisis is already affecting the field. And it will get worse. Psychotherapists get into prescription business and provide pills. They are likely to have very less interaction with consumer and hinder the normal process of psychotherapy. Managed care minimizes the professional secrecy. As primary care physician refers the consumer to a specialist psychotherapist. Managed care programs that are commonly used are, as listed by Kuhl, V. (1994): Health Maintenance organization (HMO): In this a federally qualified HMO in exchange for a subscriber fee (Premium) allows members to access to a panel of employed physicians and facilities, including hospitals. In return HMO receives mandated market access and receives federal development funds. In HMO plan, a member is assigned a "Gatekeeper", a primary care physician (PCP) who takes care of members assigned to him. To avail specialty services like a specialist

Anemia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Anemia - Essay Example The body may also fail to generate red blood cells to lead to the shortage in the body. Alternatively, the rate of degeneration of red blood cells may be higher than the rate of regeneration to identify shortage into anemia. Anemia also exists in different forms and examples are â€Å"iron deficiency anemia,† â€Å"vitamin deficiency anemia,† â€Å"anemia caused by underlying diseases,† and anemia that results from hereditary diseases (Women’s Health, 2012, p. 1). Symptoms exist that indicate possible existence of anemia and examples include â€Å"fatigue, weakness, dizziness, headache, low body temperature, pale skin, and shortness of breath† (Women’s Health, 2012, p. 1). Existing tests for the condition are limited to physical examination on the symptoms and treatments such as blood transfusion, suppression of the immune system, facilitated generation of red blood cells, and consumption of necessary supplements exist. The treatments focus o n each cause of the condition. In severe conditions, anemia can lead to cardiac arrest (Chem,

Managed Care and Psychotherapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Managed Care and Psychotherapy - Essay Example It rapidly spread to health insurance industry in private sector. It relies upon and effort to control ever increasing health care costs by health insurance industry, which fixes a reasonable fee. Health care provides charge for their services. Thanks to managed care facilities provided by health insurance industry, medical inflation rate decreased drastically in 1990's in U.S. But right now the effect looks like it has ended abruptly and U.S. medical inflation is beginning to rise steeply. Psychotherapy in its traditional form is being challenged due to managed care pressures. Managed care is not needful for psychiatric patients as it creates many hindrances to the consumer in the early steps of treatment. Managed care makes the psychotherapy sessions completely transparent, when it is supposed to be undisclosed. There are pros and cons. Managed care in psychotherapy is significantly a bane to the consumers. Psychotherapy always requires long number of sessions but due to pressure from insurance companies, psychotherapists reduce the number of sessions. It is the indirect supervision of the financial management of a consumer's medical care performed by the ultimate reimbursement entity, commonly known as the payer.' Payers use utilization review'-a medical professional oversees the treating physician's decisions to determine if the most financially efficient method is being used. In the optimistic view, managed care offers coordinated, integrated systems of care that emphasize prevention and cost restraints. But actually managed care leads to limited access, lack of choice and, sometimes, limitation of care. O'Hara, M. (1997) reports: Nowhere are the concrete consequences of the rising levels of cultural incoherence more visible than within the community of psychotherapists. Therapeutic psychology and its spin-offs, clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, psychiatric nursing, and organizational behavior, are disintegrating as academic disciplines and as fields of professional practice. The field of psychology and the individuals who inhabit it are in the midst of theoretical, epistemological, methodological, and ethical meltdown. Pluralism in graduate school training, discussions about licensing and credentialing, variations in clinical theory and practice, debates about the status of psychological knowledge as science and as evidence in courts of law, shifting definitions of ethical and unethical behavior, and proliferation of antitherapist consumer protection laws are just some of the ways the postmodern crisis is already affecting the field. And it will get worse. Psychotherapists get into prescription business and provide pills. They are likely to have very less interaction with consumer and hinder the normal process of psychotherapy. Managed care minimizes the professional secrecy. As primary care physician refers the consumer to a specialist psychotherapist. Managed care programs that are commonly used are, as listed by Kuhl, V. (1994): Health Maintenance organization (HMO): In this a federally qualified HMO in exchange for a subscriber fee (Premium) allows members to access to a panel of employed physicians and facilities, including hospitals. In return HMO receives mandated market access and receives federal development funds. In HMO plan, a member is assigned a "Gatekeeper", a primary care physician (PCP) who takes care of members assigned to him. To avail specialty services like a specialist

Infancy and Early Childhood Paper Essay Example for Free

Infancy and Early Childhood Paper Essay I believe Piagets theory of cognitive development best explains the cognitive development both in infancy and early childhood. His theory is explained by a theory of cognitive organization called schemes. Schemes are the actions or mental representations that organize knowledge (Santrock, 2008, p. 94). According to his theory, schemes change with age; in other words, they are action-based (motor patterns) at first and then gradually change to a mental (thinking) level. There are several key terms that explain Piagets process of developmental change; those include adaptation, assimilation, accommodation, organization, and equilibration. Sensorimotor stage is the first of the Piagets theory of cognitive development. It lasts from birth to the about 2 years of age, where awareness of the world is limited to what can be known through sensory awareness and motor acts. Furthermore, Piaget divided the sensorimotor stage into six sub-stages: 1) simple reflexes; (2) first habits and primary circular reactions; (3) secondary circular reactions; (4) coordination of secondary circular reactions; (5) tertiary circular reactions, novelty, and curiosity; and (6) internalization of schemes (Santrock, 2008, p. 96). †¢Reflexive Schemes: this is present in newborns. Initially, the infants actions are coordinated through reflexive behaviors, such as rooting and sucking. But gradually the infant produces behaviors that resemble reflexes in the absence of the usual stimulus for the reflex (Santrock, 2008). †¢Primary circular reactions: it develops between 1 and 4 months of age. In this stage, infants begin to adapt their reflexes to their environment; simple motor habits are centered around own body (Caulfield, 2001)†¢Secondary circular reactions: it develops between 4 and 8 months of age. The focus of infants exploration shits to external events. Infants develop awareness that objects continue to exist even when not in sight at about 8 months of age (Caulfield, 2001)†¢Coordination of secondary circular reactions: develops between 8 and 12 months of age. Infants begin to demonstrate intentional behavior and anticipate events; they coordinate separate actions to achieve desired goals (Caulfield, 2001). †¢Tertiary circular reactions: develops between 12 and 18 months of age. Infants reach an advanced level of proficiency; they begin to explore properties of objects through novel actions (Caulfield, 2001). †¢Internalization of schemes: develops between 18 and 24 months of age. Their ability to represent the external world internally begins to develop, also called as symbolic representation. Also, deferred imitation, the ability to retain and copy a representation of an observed behavior, begins to develop (Caulfield, 2001). I also believe Piagets theory best explains the cognitive development in early childhood as well. His Preoperational period, the second stage of Piagets theory of cognitive development lasts from approximately 2 to 7 years of age. In this age, children begin to represent the world with words, images, and drawings. Not only that, they begin to form stable concepts and embark on reasoning (Santrock, 2008, p. 145). Also, egocentricism (inability to distinguish between ones own perspective and someone elses perspective) and magical beliefs also begin to play a role in childs cognitive development. There are different sub-stages of the preoperational stage. Symbolic function sub-stage is the first sub-stage of the pre-operational thought. In this stage, the child has the capability to mentally represent an object that is not physically present. This stage occurs between the ages of 2 and 4 years of age. The Intuitive Thought Sub-stage, the second sub-stage of preoperational thought that generally occurs between 4 and 7 years of age. In this stage, children are tempted to ask many questions. In other words, one of the most prominent words for the children around this age is why. There are many similarities and differences between the Piagets theory of cognitive development that explains infancy and early childhood. Similarities †¢Both the selected theories that I believe best describes cognitive development in infancy and early childhood come from Piaget. †¢Both theories have stages (Sensorimotor and preoperational) and are further divided into sub-stages. †¢Both theories rely on the assumption that infants and children actively construct an understanding of the world. †¢Both theories give a time frame of when the stages and the sub- stages occur†¢Both theories have limitations. Differences †¢Sensorimotor stage deals with infants from birth to 2 years of age and Preoperational stage deals with early childhood that generally occurs between the ages of 2 and 7. †¢Sensorimotor is the stage one of the Piagets theory of cognitive development; whereas preoperational period is stage two of his theory. †¢The limitation of the sensorimotor stages rests on the accuracy of the timing of the events that Piaget mentioned; whereas the limitation of the Pre-operational thought rests on the concepts such as centration and conservation. Therefore, in this paper, I have considered Piagets theory to explain cognitive development in both infancy and early childhood. I have also considered the similarities and differences between the two theories. References Caulfield, R. A. (2001). Infants and toddlers. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice HallSantrock, J. W. (2008). Essentials of life-span development. NY: McGraw-Hill.

Genetic Mutations Result In Faulty Proteins

Genetic Mutations Result In Faulty Proteins The DNA sequence codes for a particular gene which is then copied into a protein sequence code. Protein is found in every cell in human body and has a vital role in cell growth and tissue repair. The amino acids are the building blocks of proteins which are arranged in a specific order to determine the proteins shape and function. The incorrect amino acid sequence leads to harmful consequences because it can lead to the formation of faulty proteins which can cause disruption in metabolic and regulatory pathways which cause genetic disorders (1). Genetic mutation is a change in genomic sequence which encodes DNA. It can be either inherited or somatic mutation. Somatic mutations are introduced either during DNA replication or when the DNA repair process fails. Agents which damage DNA are frequent carcinogens. Most carcinogenic agents are mutagens. There are two classes of mutations caused by mutagens. The first class is spontaneous mutations caused by depurination, deamination and demethylation(3). The second class is induced mutations caused by ionizing radiation,chemical mutagens and ultra violet radiation(3). Mutation during DNA replication Before cell divides, cell duplicates its entire DNA sequence. To start DNA replication, the DNA helicase separates the DNA molecule into two strands. Then DNA polymerase copies each strand of DNA in order to create two double-stranded DNA molecules. Somatic mutation occurs when this DNA polymerase makes an error in copying which takes place once every 100,000,000 bases (4). Mutation effects Single base substitution: The consequences of single base substitution mutation depend on the location of the protein which can lead to either silent mutation, missense mutation or a non-sense mutation. Silent mutations are those which dont produce any change in an amino acid sequence of a protein. They occur in that region that either doesnt code for a protein or doesnt alter the final sequence of amino acid chain. For example GCA codon turns into GCG codon as in result of single nucleotide replacement because both GCA and GCG codons mean arginine in mRNA (8). Missense mutations involve a change in a single nucleotide to cause substitution of a different amino acid. This can result into a non-functional protein. Sickle cell anemia is an example of missense mutation where CTC in the DNA sense strand specifies glutamate residue get altered with GUG in the mRNA which results in a Valine residue in the protein causing sickle-cell anemia (8). Non-sense mutations are those which results in a premature stop codon leading to the formation of a non-functional protein. An example for non-sense mutation is a single nucleotide replacement from C to T in codon CAG which forms a stop codon TAG. This incorrect sequence causes the shortening of protein (8). Frameshift mutation: This mutation is the result of an insertion or a deletion of one or more nucleotides from the DNA sequence but not in multiples of three because bases in set of three forms a codon which provides the code for an amino acid sequence of the protein. So as DNA polymerase read the triplet nature of codon so an insertion or a deletion can disrupt its reading frame which results into a completely different translation done by the DNA polymerase (8+6). Chromosome mutation: Any change either in structure or arrangement of chromosomes is a chromosome mutation which frequently occurs in meiosis during crossing over. The different types of chromosome mutation are:- Translocation: In this mutation, a piece of one chromosome gets transferred to a non-homologous chromosome. For example when translocation between chromosomes 9 and 22 takes place, an abnormal gene forms which codes for an abnormal faulty protein resulting the development of leukaemia (8). Inversion: During this mutation, a DNA region on a chromosome flips its orientation leading the formation of an abnormal gene which then codes for a faulty abnormal protein. Deletion: In this mutation, a chromosome section gets deleted which results in the loss of genes (6). Duplication: During this mutation, some genes get duplicate and get read twice by the DNA polymerase on the same chromosome resulting in the formation of a faulty abnormal protein (6). Non-disjunction: This is when chromosomes dont separate successfully to opposite poles at anaphase stage during meiosis which allows the presence of an extra chromosome in one of the daughter cells. Downs syndrome is an example of non-disjunction which occurs in chromosome 21 of a human egg cell (8). Removal of faulty proteins In eukaryotic cells, faulty proteins are recognized and degraded very rapidly in cells to prevent any harmful consequences. The two major faulty protein destruction pathways are:- Ubiquitin-proteasome pathway for faulty intracellular proteins: In the case of formation of faulty proteins which are defective get ejected into the proteasome from the endoplasmic reticulum through channels called retrotranslocons. Proteasome is a large multi-catalytic protein complex found in all eukaryotes which is located in nucleus and cytoplasm. It is responsible to degrade faulty intracellular proteins through proteolysis(2). The enzymes which carry out proteolysis are known as proteases. Those intracellular proteins which need to go under degradation get tagged with another small protein called ubiquitin(2). Ubiquitin binds to the amino group of the side chain of a lysine residue. This tagging process is catalyzed by ubiquitin ligase. Once the protein gets tagged,a signal gets released to other ligases allowing more ubiquitin molecules to attach to form a poly-ubiquitin chain. Poly-ubiquitin chain then bound by the 26s proteasome complex which leads to the degradation of tagged protein(7). Ubiquitin does get released which that can be reused in next cycle. However ATP is used for the attachment of ubiquitin and for the degradation of tagged proteins (5). Lysosomal proteolysis for faulty extracellular proteins: Lysosomes are membrane-enclosed cellular organelles in animals containing digestive enzymes and proteases. They have important roles in cell metabolism including the digestion of extracellular proteins taken up through endocytosis. So during this protein degradation pathway, the protein is uptaken by lysosomes through the formation of vesicles derived from endoplasmic reticulum called autophagosomes. Then these autophagosomes fuse with lysosomes so in result the digestive lysosomal enzymes digest their contents (5).

Excel Spreadsheet Use and the Strategic Corporate Plan :: essays papers

Excel Spreadsheet Use and the Strategic Corporate Plan Introduction In years past, every well-run corporation undoubtedly had a written business plan. Oftentimes, these plans were considered by many to be an exercise in frustration, as they were laboriously considered, written, then stored on the company's library shelf until the next business planning cycle. The last few decades have seen a radical change in the way companies do their planning. More often than not, the "old" business plan - though still produced and of value in its own right - is given less attention than the newer Strategic Plan. Unlike the Business Plan, which tends to be a very short document, the Strategic Plan is likely to be much more substantial and detailed. The Business Plan provides the foundation and framework for the Strategic Plan.1 Senior business managers are often so occupied with immediate issues that they can easily lose site of the long-term objectives of the business - objectives upon which the business can thrive if attained or fail completely if not. Because of this, a Strategic Plan today is a virtual necessity. Most managers tend to see the Strategic Plan as a 'living' document; one that, with careful foresight, consideration and development is written at the start of a business planning period, then reworked as circumstances within the company and business climate change throughout the planning period.2 The writing and preparation of a Strategic Plan is an important effort, demonstrating that careful consideration has been given to the business's development; however, the ultimate goal of the Strategic Plan is its own realization. With the advent of the personal computer and spreadsheet development, the Strategic Planning process today is made easier with the many current spreadsheet programs available to aid in the Plan' A Short History of the Spreadsheet. The term "spread sheet" (nowadays "spreadsheet) has a long history, beginning with the non-computerized version, a reference to which was made in accounting books from the early 1950's to describe a worksheet providing a two-way analysis of accounting data (i.e. an accounting matrix in which the columns and rows constitute either debit and credit sides)3 In thinking about the history of the spreadsheet, two important men stand out. In the early 1960s, Richard Mattessich of the University of California at Berkeley pioneered computerized spread sheets for business accounting. As the forerunners of today's spreadsheet programs for PC's such as Lotus 1-2-3, Excel, etc., these spread sheets contained use of matrices, (budget) simulation, and, most important, the calculation to support each matrix cell."4 Although Mattessich's work was mentioned in economic and computer literature as well

The Mafia As A Corporation Essay -- essays papers

The Mafia As A Corporation Violence, blackmail and corruption as business terms, one would doubtfully consider them commonplace, but in the Mafia, nothing is. Looking at the history surrounding the Mafia, and the motivations apparent for its unconventional practices will lead one to realize that it is much more a union aimed at entrepreneurial success than the more common notion that it is simply a malicious group of amoral villains, anxious to wreak havoc. For decades the Italian-American Mafia has employed violent to achieve success in a capitalistic sense. â€Å"The Mafia has changed a great deal since the days of the peasant uprisings in sun-baked Sicily. It has found a place within its ranks for business-school graduates, and it has adopted modern banking methods and invested in legitimate corporate ventures.† The Mafia, also known as La Cosa Nostra, is generally composed of Italians or Italian-Americans that work together as entrepreneurial criminals. La Cosa Nostra literally means â€Å"T he thing ours† but is loosely translated as â€Å"our thing.† The Mafia traces its roots back to Sicily, Italy in the 9th century AD when its purpose was to guard the feudal estates of wealthy landlords. When members of the Sicilian Mafia immigrated to the United States they initially excelled in extortion, but soon adopted gambling and prostitution as business ventures. In order to understand the role the Mafia has played in the United States, it is first necessary to study the formation and role of the Mafia in Italy. The Sicilian Mafia is said to have formed around the ninth century when Arabic tribes invaded Sicily. Native Italians were forced into hiding, taking to the hills and mountains in order to stay safe. The Sicilian Mafia formed to protect Italians from the invaders, and eventually rid the region of its unwelcome foreign foes. At this point, Mafiosi (individual members of the Mafia) essentially became middlemen for business transactions in their particular city or town. In his book The Sicilian Mafia, Diego Gambetta describes the process â€Å"When the butcher comes to me to buy an animal, he knows that I want to cheat him. But I know that he wants to cheat me. Thus we need, say, Peppe [that is, a third party] to make us agree. And we both pay Peppe a percentage of the deal.† This method has many implications. â€Å"Peppe† is trusted by both the con... ...expertise into other fields. With this expansion came the fame and fortune that has made the American Mafia famous in the United States. In time, the Mafia honed their skills, and aligned them with common legitimate businesses practices, which has separated them from common criminals, and allowed themselves to excel. Bibliography 1.)Firoentin, Gianluca and Peltzman, Sam. 1995. The Economics of Organised Crime. The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge 2.)Gage, Nicholas. 1971. The Mafia is not an Equal Opportunity Employer. Nicholas Gage 3.)Gambetta, Diego. 1993. The Sicilian Mafia. The president and Fellows of Harvard College. 4.)Mangione, Jerre and Morreale, Ben. 1992. â€Å"Who’s afraid of La Mano Nera, ‘The Black Hand?’† New York, Harper Collins. http://organizedcrime.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mindspring.com%2F%7Ehistoric-ny%2Fblackhand.htm 5.)Nelli, Humbert S. 1976. The Business of Crime: Italians and Syndicate Crime in the United States. Oxford University Press, Inc. 6.)Pitkin, Thomas M. and Cordasco, Francesco. 1977. The Black Hand: A Chapter in Ethnic Crime. Littlefield, Adams & Co. The Mafia As A Corporation Essay -- essays papers The Mafia As A Corporation Violence, blackmail and corruption as business terms, one would doubtfully consider them commonplace, but in the Mafia, nothing is. Looking at the history surrounding the Mafia, and the motivations apparent for its unconventional practices will lead one to realize that it is much more a union aimed at entrepreneurial success than the more common notion that it is simply a malicious group of amoral villains, anxious to wreak havoc. For decades the Italian-American Mafia has employed violent to achieve success in a capitalistic sense. â€Å"The Mafia has changed a great deal since the days of the peasant uprisings in sun-baked Sicily. It has found a place within its ranks for business-school graduates, and it has adopted modern banking methods and invested in legitimate corporate ventures.† The Mafia, also known as La Cosa Nostra, is generally composed of Italians or Italian-Americans that work together as entrepreneurial criminals. La Cosa Nostra literally means â€Å"T he thing ours† but is loosely translated as â€Å"our thing.† The Mafia traces its roots back to Sicily, Italy in the 9th century AD when its purpose was to guard the feudal estates of wealthy landlords. When members of the Sicilian Mafia immigrated to the United States they initially excelled in extortion, but soon adopted gambling and prostitution as business ventures. In order to understand the role the Mafia has played in the United States, it is first necessary to study the formation and role of the Mafia in Italy. The Sicilian Mafia is said to have formed around the ninth century when Arabic tribes invaded Sicily. Native Italians were forced into hiding, taking to the hills and mountains in order to stay safe. The Sicilian Mafia formed to protect Italians from the invaders, and eventually rid the region of its unwelcome foreign foes. At this point, Mafiosi (individual members of the Mafia) essentially became middlemen for business transactions in their particular city or town. In his book The Sicilian Mafia, Diego Gambetta describes the process â€Å"When the butcher comes to me to buy an animal, he knows that I want to cheat him. But I know that he wants to cheat me. Thus we need, say, Peppe [that is, a third party] to make us agree. And we both pay Peppe a percentage of the deal.† This method has many implications. â€Å"Peppe† is trusted by both the con... ...expertise into other fields. With this expansion came the fame and fortune that has made the American Mafia famous in the United States. In time, the Mafia honed their skills, and aligned them with common legitimate businesses practices, which has separated them from common criminals, and allowed themselves to excel. Bibliography 1.)Firoentin, Gianluca and Peltzman, Sam. 1995. The Economics of Organised Crime. The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge 2.)Gage, Nicholas. 1971. The Mafia is not an Equal Opportunity Employer. Nicholas Gage 3.)Gambetta, Diego. 1993. The Sicilian Mafia. The president and Fellows of Harvard College. 4.)Mangione, Jerre and Morreale, Ben. 1992. â€Å"Who’s afraid of La Mano Nera, ‘The Black Hand?’† New York, Harper Collins. http://organizedcrime.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mindspring.com%2F%7Ehistoric-ny%2Fblackhand.htm 5.)Nelli, Humbert S. 1976. The Business of Crime: Italians and Syndicate Crime in the United States. Oxford University Press, Inc. 6.)Pitkin, Thomas M. and Cordasco, Francesco. 1977. The Black Hand: A Chapter in Ethnic Crime. Littlefield, Adams & Co.

Technological Progress Has Made Us Lazy

Technological progress has made us lazy. Technological progress is a continuous process, which plays a very important role in our daily lives. However, some people believe that this progress has made us lazy, saying we rely on machines too much. For me, the progress, while not making us lazy, makes human beings more active both physically and mentally. First of all, machines or high technology don’t help people do less work but help them complete tasks more quickly.With washing machines, vacuum cleaners, other housework machines, people can quickly complete trivial tasks and move on doing other important tasks such as going out with their friends, family, doing exercise, doing their jobs. For instance, parents have more time with their kids after finishing household chores, or have more time for themselves after a hardworking day. Second, machines as well as other technological achievements like the Internet have helped human do and complete tasks more effectively, and enjoyab ly. For example, doing exercise becomes much easier and enjoyable, while it becomes more effective.Instead of running on the roads in order to keep our shapes, running machines and other body building machines which are both convenient and safe can help us consume larger amount of calories, and fat. Finally, we not only physically work harder but also mentally develop along with the technological progress. Communicating means such as the Internet, television and radio daily provide us with large amount of information. Our brains work harder to process the information unless we want to be outdated. We mentally improve the ability to analyze, research, and innovate to understand and get useful information among various sources.In conclusion, unlike making us lazy, the technological progress helps us effectively work harder, and develop ourselves both physically and mentally. Is technology making us lazy? Results so far: Yes| | 56%| 1032 votes| Total: 1842 votes| No| | 44%| 810 votes| | Yes by Russell Waldron Created on: March 21, 2010 Baby boomers will easily recall watching movies and cartoons which portrayed how easy life would be in the future. Remember the Jetsons? A myriad of people scoffed at what they called â€Å"the vivid imaginations of those intrigued with technology. † Yet screenplay writers were eerily close to perfection.Did they not show life as being extremely simplistic? Where one barely had to lift a finger to cook a meal, wash clothes, talk to friends and loved ones far away and so much more. We are right in that very time frame, and this is all thanks to technology. We no longer need to do back breaking work around the house. The washing is done automatically, meals can be cooked in the microwave at the press of a button, mobile phones allow us to send instant messages, the internet lets us see family and friends in other countries, and while this all takes place the obesity crisis escalates. Why?Because technology has made a majority of the world’s population so lazy. Just the other day a friend’s son bemoaned the fact that he no longer had credit on his cell phone. He was upset because he could not contact his girlfriend who was on holidays oversees until his next pay packet arrived. Raising the eyebrows the boy’s father said â€Å"Well write her a letter! † The young lad’s jaw dropped, he gasped in shock and said â€Å"Are you kidding dad? Writing letters went out with straw hats! † His father later confided to the author that the boy’s spelling was atrocious due to having become used to text message jargon.Games can be played via the internet and this distances people from the great outdoors, fresh air, green grass, sunshine and the realities of life. It also distances people from ‘real exercise. ’ Unfortunately computer games can sometimes give a person a false impression of real life. At times they become so fixated on computer games that they la ck the skills needed to differentiate between fantasy and reality. This then leads to some thinking that they can get through life a little like they get through the games they play. Where video games have people dying, being bought back to life, being indestructible and so forth, real life differs.Therefore one needs to be out in the real world, not hiding behind technology for the rest of their lives. Technology has made a myriad of people couch potatoes, everything is done at the push of a button and most people like the fact that it is. The internet is used for study and taking a leisurely stroll to the local library is almost obsolete now. Why walk to the library when all the information you could ever want is at your fingertips? Search engines on the internet make study and learning so easy. But if one misinterprets the information, they have nothing to gain.Washing machines and clothes dryers make housework so much easier. Dishwashers do as well, but what happened to an hones t days work? No longer is there a need to sweep the floors when we have all purpose vacuum cleaners. And we don’t need to rush to the bank before closing time anymore. With internet banking you can pay all your bills on line or even do your grocery shopping. We don’t even need to walk to the post office anymore, we can send news to others via the fax machine. From automatic toilet cleaners to self defrosting fridges and freezers, there is very little manual work involved in a host of chores these days.Gosh one doesn’t even need to get out in the sun to looked bronze and well tanned these days. Simply head on over to your local solarium for a spray on tan. Going camping? Well lucky you, head on over to your nearest camping store and you can purchase a fifty second pop-up tent or a self-inflating mattress. Ah such strenuous work camping is huh? Need a new dress, shoes, sports coat? Buy them online and save your feet. Let the fingers do the walking. Might as well t hrow in a pair of label brand sports shoes as well, you want to look the part even though you know they won’t be used.Admit it, you break out in a sweat just watching re-runs of Saturday Night Fever. Honestly, few people even walk to the store these days to get their photos developed. Simply plug in your digital camera and print your own photos straight from your own computer. Paint your house with a spray gun, gather up all the leaves with a leaf blower, let your kids consistently use a pocket calculator and they’ll never excel at maths. Trim your hedge with a hedge trimmer. Hop on your ride-on mower and do the lawn then head back indoors to sit underneath the air-conditioner before you take a shower. Need to go to the toilet before you do?Ah well install a bidet, press a button and all will be cleaned automatically. Has technology made us lazy? You bet your automatic dog-walker it has! No by Patrick Darski Created on: October 18, 2009 Is technology making us lazy? It 's a common question asked frequently by all types of people, from doctors, to government agents, and of course, concerned parents. This question is in a way, totally subjective, and depends heavily on one's definition of â€Å"lazy†, which for me, when used to describe a person, simply means that the person rather do something easy, but relaxing, than something possibly difficult, but rewarding.Technology can help us in both. For example, a lazy person can stream videos of stand-up comedians all day long on YouTube, while a productive person can research a topic interesting to him/her. That being said, I think that most people are not â€Å"lazy†, especially most of the time. We all have periods of time that we become lazy, which is perfectly normal and healthy, but most of us realize that being productive is ultimately more rewarding than just lounging around. Ultimately, it does depend on the person, because no matter how you look at it, technology opens a door whic h leads to a forked path.One with various commodities that are â€Å"just for fun†, and the other which is nothing but productive. Every time we boot up a computer, turn on our cell-phones, take out our mp3 players, turn on the television, or plug in practically any other appliance, we choose the road which we want to go down. Technology itself, is perfectly neutral, it has no preference as to what we do with it, this holds true no matter if we are speaking of the scientific definition of Technology, or the more mainstream definition. Making the point that technology is totally neutral in it's judgment, or rather, lack thereof, is extremely important to this stance.This is because if we look at it, it becomes obvious that technology opens up the door to many more useful tasks, than it does to useless ones. It can also make us more willing to do tasks that we might otherwise want to ignore. For example, thanks to technology, it is a simple matter of a few keystrokes to send a message across the world. Just 50 years ago, this was a task that required thought, time, and patience. Oftentimes, for practicality's sake, one just wouldn't bother to send said message, technology makes sending that same message a breeze.Try to imagine the world without any tools, and that would ultimately be a world without technology. Now certainly, that wouldn't be a very comfortable place to live, and we couldn't afford to be lazy simply because our survival would depend on it. All the technology that we have today doesn't make us lazy at all, it just gives us more choices. Sure technology takes away the effort you would have to put into things otherwise, but that doesn't mean it makes us lazy, it just makes it easier to complete an otherwise strenuous, boring, repetitive task.Imagine mowing a lawn with scissors versus mowing the lawn with any sort of lawn-mower. In conclusion, technology doesn't make humans lazy, it makes things easier to do, serving it's original purpose. Ho w we use the technology is totally up to us, and so it simply isn't fair to blame technology for people becoming lazy, that is almost always a personal choice. I believe that blaming technology for laziness is akin to blaming a pen for miss-spelled words. Ultimately, it's the people who decide how to utilize technology, technology does not decide for people how they should use it.Yes by Freyda Tartak Created on: October 10, 2009   Ã‚  Last Updated: July 01, 2010 Congratulations! You have a cell phone, a laptop, and your fridge even tells you how much water it has filled your cup with. Technology has made it possible to be everywhere without actually being anywhere. So now we are faced with a universal trend toward mediocrity. With so much information and access to choice people are becoming satisfied with just getting by rather than striving for excellence. There is more value placed on the quantity of things that we can do, rather than quality of our output.It is a sad state of e vents and is the reason why bridges fall down and planes fall out of the sky. It is the reason why carbon offset credits are considered an effective way to save the planet. Certainly, there are many perks and positives to having such an unprecedented array of tools that are so readily available for relatively little expense. They are used to save lives, bring clean water to places that have none, allow people to have a voice where they are being suppressed and denied basic human rights. Technology is clearly a great thing. It has the capacity to automate redundant tasks and provide endless hours of entertainment.It negates the need to leave the home, the room, the chair we sit in. Back in the summer of 2003 the entire Eastern sea board went without electricity. People panicked! They had no idea how to exist without something that powered so many of the things now considered essential. Some, did the truly unusual: They gathered everything that could go bad in their fridge and that of their neighbors, went outside, fired up the barbecue, hibachi, and the crank radio and had a picnic. When the power came back on, they rushed back inside and went back to surfing the net and watching TV.Nobody is saying that we are now lazy because we do not have to go out to the well for fresh water each day, or stand in line at the market early each morning because there is no such thing as a refrigerator. We can warm up food in seconds using microwaves and stand in the middle of a forest and call for help on a PDA. We can call the police from half a world away because somebody we don't even know is crying out for help in a chat room. Sure, there are benefits. But, let's be realistic. Most people do not simply use technology for essential needs.They have turned it into life sustaining tools and avoid tasks and chores by flicking a switch or pressing a button. Society has become helpless when unplugged. We used to have to get up and go to the library to research projects for schoo l. Now, libraries are depleted of truly useful volumes. Even librarians point to the web as the place to go instead of aisle EE 647 – 749. Anybody who has ever tried to find information online should be able to attest to how easy it is to get distracted and find far more and far less than what was aimed at. While we are on the topic, the quality of information put out there is not the same.Much of it is unreliable and unverified. Anybody can publish anything and we are all too busy multitasking to dig deep enough to get true insight. No by Team Vico Created on: July 06, 2010 I think an individual’s use of Technology will dictate how active or lazy they become. I believe that technology saves heaps of hours and it’s how active you want to be in that newly free time is not imposed and only a personal decision. I have the following list of examples of beneficial and time saving technology used in the workplace, the home and as a part of social networking.I hope by these few examples that I can emphasise that the use of technology is a personal one, how much or how little is 1. Integrate your sporting activities with technology. Go to www. sportypal. com and download this application directly to your phone. This great little application allows you to track your sporting achievements via GPS and is great to work on your goals. 2. Save a significant amount of time and effort in organizing sport events such as weekly football. Your team are notified either via email or text messaging of the upcoming games and team information. Really handy as well when canceling events. Visit: www. eamer. net/ 3. Social Networking utilities such as Facebook take the hassle out of organizing social events and reunions. Sending out a general group invite, for example, saves time and money in trying to locate and contact people by phone, snail mail or email. 4. Instant messenger programs are another great business time saver when used correctly. Again, saving us tim e and cost in phoning people up if you just have a quick query to ask or something to verify. There is an argument that gaming and over use of the internet, to name but two adverse aspects of the misuse of technology, is what technology is doing to us.I disagree and suggest that moderation is the key here. Overuse of almost anything will have an adverse affect or result. Self-regulation and self-responsibility need to be employed to achieve a balance. Technology can integrate into our lives without being out of balance. We still are in the age of rapidly changing and growing technology. The speed of development and growth is parallel with the speedy pace of life. I think that technology is serving to improve quality of life, supporting day-to-day tasks. Were it not for developments in technology, we would find that we have less time in an age dictated by time and achievement.I give technology a thumbs up and applaud that which serves efficiency and growth in our living and lives. Ye s by Nathan Ciraulo Created on: December 05, 2009 To dig from the roots of technology would be a long journey through years of experimentation which has brought us to a day and age of convenience. There are limitless items available for virtually any part of life, be it productivity, entertainment, maintenance, etc. We have objects that wake us up at exactly the time we expect. Insulated boxes preserve food for an appropriate time to be consumed. Mechanical frames on wheels transport us in inutes at high speed safely to destinations miles away. The world is connected via endless miles of fiber and copper lines that compile the most sophisticated conglomerate of communication known to mankind. Waves at varying wavelengths are transmitted and received into tiny handheld devices with little delay from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world. Despite all these improvements to our way of life, it begs a long look at the question, Are we better for it? Have vast improvements in eff iciency cost us endurance and the ability to perform a good day's work?If every vital act we needed to survive was accomplished by a thoughtless piece of equipment, would we ourselves even bother to think? The tendency to become less productive puts us in a position to do less with our own two hands, even forget how. Worse, the attitude and willingness to let it happen despite the clear end of the road arriving in a dismal crater of inactivity deserves the attention of all. But the warnings are being overlooked. Technology has its uses and there are legitimate reasons to use it. There are endless examples of tools used for the medical field, the construction field, information technology field, etc.But to rely solely on it and continue to place more emphasis on its importance than ourselves points to a rift of lazy thoughtlessness. To embrace a microwave dinner mentality is a slippery slope that ends in loss of personal quality. With the option of microwave noodles in cup versus Fet tuccine Alfredo, which sounds more desirable? Both will feed and sustain you, but one is more worth the work and time. We have a greater call to remain strong and capable; able to stand on the knowledge and courage passed on to us. We have a duty to strike a balance that keeps us efficient but does not make us forget discipline.Without such, we have only chaos. Those who have the gift to invent, I applaud your efforts. Yet I implore your brilliance to help teach us to use the improvements to get us back on our feet. No by Neima Izadi Created on: July 16, 2010 To say that technology is making us lazy is true to a certain extent, but overall it is a poor blame game. It is not in good form to attribute the proliferation of laziness to technology, something that has brought us so much prosperity, and continues to do so. Technology has led advances in medicine,industry, and science. I should not blame a spell checker for a ecline in my spelling abilities. The spell checker should only se rve as a device that increases efficiency, I should not neglect proper spelling practices and studies just because I have a spell checker. Any presence of laziness, or harm brought on with the use of technology, should not be attributed to the technology itself, but the misuse of it. It is important to look at the way we utilize the technologies we have. For example, we should moderate our use of cars, such as walking to a neighbor's house instead of driving, this way we can stay active, minimizing laziness.With regard to a popular item of technology, computers, it is best to think of them as devices that allow the dissemination of knowledge, and as motivators of learning and discovery. Yes, we will get lazy if we spend hours on the computer in front of facebook, email, or games, but computers and the internet are so grand and complex that they have many opportunities for productive work and learning. We must moderate our activities as a way of keeping our laziness in check. It is b ackward for us to say that we should be lax in our development of certain technologies because we fear that they will cause our society to become lazy.To blame technology on making society lazy, will stifle innovation, creativity, and technological advancement, to put it simply, it is merely an excuse for our laziness that we ourselves cause, due to our over reliance on the things that are comfortable for us. Laziness is more a result of our character and habits. Those that firmly espouse that technology makes us lazy are grossly underestimating the value of technology, and the impact it has had by improving our quality of life by increasing communication abilities, our medicine, our businesses, and industries. The way we use technology is responsible for the degree of our laziness.A computer is not a laziness machine, it is a device that allows communication and various other activities. A car is a machine that can get you from one destination to another. A spell checker makes docu ment editing more efficient. This is technology. Yes by Erich Heinlein Created on: October 20, 2009   Ã‚  Last Updated: February 20, 2010 Technology can make you lazy. It all depends on the person. But generally, yes technology has made us lazy. For example, what most typical Americans do when they get home from a long day at work is come home and then sit in front of the TV for a good portion of the evening.In a matter of fact an age-old study states the average American watches TV for over two hours a day. Others do more productive things it depends on the person. Most American males sit through sometimes multiple college football games. Let's think about that. Your average college football game takes about two and a half to three hours on any given afternoon. So, assuming the games go there average length that means most American males consume themselves with football six hours on Saturday and at least six on Sunday.. But there is also another aspect to this as well. Not only h as it made us lazy it has contributed to making us unfit.One could also credit technology for the obesity level in this country. Most kids who are overweight are overweight because not only do they not eat healthy they spend a tremendous amount of time in front of the TV or playing video games. Video games have been around long enough that even most people in their late 20's-early 30's (I'll admit it I'm one of them) play video games on a far too frequent basis. Although the affects of video gaming may change in the near future once the Nintendo Wii starts to become more affordable and hit more homes, technology still has it's dark side.For those of you who may not be familiar with the Nintendo Wii, it is an interactive video gaming console. Most of the games actually require you to physically do the motions as opposing to just sitting there hitting tons of buttons like you would do with Playstation and XBox. The next negative effect technology has had on society is the porn industr y. It is very easy to access pornographic web sites through the Internet and it is not very hard to get through the parental controls part of the sites most of the time at most sites.Obviously there are ways around preventing your children from getting into those types of sites but that is another article for another day. One could very well spend hours on both the Internet and it is also possible with most cable and satellite TV providers to order pornographic materials via pay per view. Doing it through Pay Per Views or even through a video store can also become a very time consuming and expensive hobby for most people. This effect is probably the worst. Let's all face it. We are sexual beings. We have to accept that fact and there is nothing anybody can do about it.Although it is the least frequent, the next way the porn industry has invaded the technological world is phone sex. Anybody who is a sex-phene or constantly thinks about sex is prone to any of these types of technology . The fortunate reality is there are ways of preventing all of them. So what good comes of technology if all this bad stuff is happening with technology one might ask? It all essentially comes down to convenience. Let's break down the three major types of technology and explain why they are beneficial. It all essentially comes down to convenience.The three major types almost everybody has are Phone, Internet and TV. Let's start with phone service: Phone service: There are numerous types of phone services out there. The most basic reason people need phones are so they can communicate with somebody instead of having to talk with them face to face because that is more time efficient for most people. It also saves a tremendous amount of car gas. Most cell phone companies offer many other features with their phones nowadays such as GPS, having your own calendar, having your own clock and numerous other applications as well.Internet: Internet service allows you to check e-mail which is a big time and money saver. The reason is that people can get e-mail instantly and they save money on stamps and envelopes. It is also possible to do extensive research on the Internet without having to go to a library. If you want an updated copy of your bank statement or you need it to dispute a charge and it is going to be a while before your next bank statement comes out at most banks you can just hop online and print out a copy of your bank statement. While this is a good convenience it is another way that society has become lazy.Instead of coming a check register most people use their bank statements online exclusively. TV: With television, one purpose everybody uses it for is to become informed of what is going on in the world (although in the transforming news business people are also turning to the Internet for this as well). Television is also influential for sports fans. Let's face it everybody has their favorite shows and has preferences when it comes to TV providers. But that is another article for another day. Essentially, all technology is the same. It all comes down to how you use it.Yes it has made us lazy. No by Bob Lloyd Created on: January 04, 2010 Technology is often associated with labour saving and in the past, there were devices designed to specifically save on physical effort. But in most areas, those technologies are already very mature. We already use washing machines, lawnmowers, hedge-trimmers, microwave ovens, and a host of other devices to do things quicker and to save effort. But laziness is something different to saving labour. Saving labour so as not to expend effort is very different from using that available effort to achieve something different.In order to make use of our effort we have to be motivated and information technology has massively expanded our options, opening entire new worlds. Whereas just twenty years ago we would have needed to go to a library to look up information, we have it in seconds through a browser. We can manage our bank account, order goods, communicate with others, share photos, music, and videos so easily now, that we need not spend much time doing it. So the technology has enabled us to do the same things as we used to do as well as new things, but much quicker and more conveniently.Which of course, gives us more time to use on things that interest us. And the technology also provides us with a huge choice. Any subject, any hobby, any interest, is so well supported that we can get involved and involved without a great deal of preparation or effort. So we are encouraged to explore, to find out, to get involved, to communicate, about anything that interests us. There has been a huge democratisation of access to information meaning that even individuals who may be personally shy or reluctant to state their views, get the opportunity to be heard.It is now easier than ever to become well-informed about any issue, any subject, and the age of the Google expert has arrived. Forums a nd chat rooms, social networks, virtual worlds, all enable people to communicate with others in a relatively safe environment, free from the challenges that physical proximity can pose. But there are other consequences as well. If we don't need to make the effort to relate to others emotionally in person, in the real physical world, does our ability to do so decline? Does less use imply less capability?If that really is the case, then our interactive technology-driven other world impoverishes the quality of our human interaction. But here too, the consequences are ambiguous. In a virtual world, or even a forum, a person hidden behind an avatar can experiment with their own reactions, exploring the reactions of others, and in doing so become more aware of the emotions of other people. They can become more skilled at relating to people, more appreciative of the range of views, more understanding of emotional responses.The success of these media demonstrates that far from becoming soci ally lazier, many people are becoming much more communicative, expressing their opinions and views more freely, and engaging in discussion and debate. But it remains true that this is different from the interactions with real physical people and there are those who lack the confidence to get involved even virtually. If the participants are exporting their egos online through avatars and that the responses they get there are more pleasant and less stressful than real life, is there not a tendency to place more focus on this artificial ego than their presence in the real world?But isn't even that begging the question because whatever and wherever they experience their interactions, it is still them getting the experience? If these people were lazy, we would expect them to do the minimum, to expend the least effort. But in fact, the massive stimulus provided by these open technologies has led many people to experience interactions on a scale that was previously impossible, enriching th eir emotional lives as well as helping them develop a better understanding of themselves.Certainly there is an addictive element, and unless there is some balance between real and virtual interactions, the benefits of the one may not reach the other. But if anything, we are now more highly motivated and involved that previously. Physically, as we spend more time online sat at a computer, we are less active but that is not through laziness, but through focussing our activities on those that are more interesting and satisfying. A balance is necessary of course, but the indications are that far from being lazy, we are becoming more motivated and open to new experiences.