Dream Chocolate Company Essay

Analysis of D.C.’s Competitive Environment and Information Need Dream Chocolate (D.C.) is a small company trying to survive in an industry with many competitors. The competitive environment comes from some factors. Firstly, D.C. bars are sold in specialty markets, fine gift stores and also available online. However, the competitive companies can also provide various chocolate bars for customers with the low price on the Internet. Secondly, comparing to the big chocolate company like Mars, D.C. is a small company that has the lower brand reputation. Therefore, there may be not many people would trust their products. On the other hand, facing this competitive environment, D.C. has developed many competitive advantages that could attract customers to choice its products. D.C. Company pursues the high quality chocolate and changes the basic milk chocolate bar into variety of flavors. The company’s niche is European-style custom chocolate bars and labeling, and it is known f or its flexibility and speed. A small customer order can be printed, labeled, and ready for pick up or shipping within one hour if the company already has the label in its system, which few company can achieve that level. Moreover, D.C. also faced the pressure from the continued national recession hurt sales in 2011. Thus, in order to deal with the internal and external competitive environment, the D.C. Company needs more business to utilize their capacity and make a profit. The main issue will be training people. It takes up long time to train people adequately. Also, customer labeling needs to be more effectively marketed, which is D.C.’s best margin area. For purpose that the company’s strategy and product can be efficiently carried out, D.C. Company should provide actual cost per order or per unit that can compute the operating margin for the individual products and the allocation of overhead costs that can know whether orders are profitable or not. Pros and Cons for Different Costing Systems Job Costing System A job is simply a product or service that can be easily distinguished from other products or services and for which the firm desires that a specific cost be recorded for the product or service. Job order costing records the  actual materials and labor expenses for specific jobs and assigns overhead to jobs at a predetermined overhead rate. Job order costing offers a detailed analysis of the costs of materials, labor cost and overheads by functions and nature. One advantage of job order costing is that it allows managers to calculate the profit earned on individual jobs, helping them to better decide whether specific job are desirable to pursue in the future. This is best for businesses that do highly custom work, such as construction contractors and consultants. Also, Job order costing gives managers the advantage of being able to keep track of individuals’ and teams’ performance in terms of cost-control, efficiency and productivity. It can evaluate efficiency of diff erent types of jobs with cost records by using statistical techniques. Job order costing facilitates the estimation of the cost of a similar job and allocates overheads on the basis of a predetermined rate. Moreover, job order costing makes easy to identify spoilage and defects to take corrective actions. However, there are also several problems with the job order costing system. Firstly, job order costing needs a great deal of clerical work in recording material issue, wage computation, payment and overhead charges. Therefore, the employees are required to track all materials and labor used during the job, which will need more accountants to works and creates additional cost for small company. Secondly, job order costing focuses attention primarily on products rather than on departments or activities. This is not an issue if there is supplemental systems in place that record information about other cost categories, but it leaves management with inadequate information if this is not the case. Additionally, strict control of cost associated with a job is difficult since overheads are allocated on estimation, which should using reasonable parameters like selecting suitable basis. Process Costing System Process costing typically used by companies that produce large quantities of identical products that are made in long, continuous production runs through a series of process centers (departments). Process costing accumulates costs in a department for an accounting period and then spreads them evenly, or on an average basis, over all units produced that month. Process costing is an easier system to use when costing homogenous products compared to other cost allocation methods. Each process applies direct materials, labor and  manufacturing overhead to the production cost total. Management accountants take the total number of goods leaving the process and divide the total process cost by this number. This creates a simple average cost for each item produced. Another advantage is that business owners use process costing because it creates a flexible production process. Companies needing to refine their process can simply add or remove a process as necessary. This also allows companies to lower their production cost for each good. Adding a process allows companies to produce slightly different goods or improve product quality. This flexibility ensures companies can produce at the most competitive cost in the economic marketplace. Also process costing provides an approach to allocate costs to partially completed production. But the process costing also exists several disadvantages. Production cost error is a significant disadvantage for cost accounting systems. Process costing does not use direct allocation to apply business costs to individual goods, which will arbitrarily increase each item’s cost and also increases the consumer product price. Management accountants may also create under-costed products. Under-costed products usually result in lower business profits because goods are actually more expensive than actually reported. Other problem is that accountants must calculate equivalent units in the process costing system. Equivalent units represent the amount of unfinished goods left in a process at the end of an accounting period. This information is reported as the work-in-process on a company’s balance sheet. Inaccurate work-in-process accounts may also result in distorted finished good totals. This creates a difficult process for managing inventory and determining how many products the company has to sell in the open marketplace. Operation Costing System Operation costing is a hybrid of job and process costing, which is used in manufacturing goods that have some individual characteristics plus some common characteristic. An operation is a standardized method of making a product that is repeatedly performed. Operation costing is often used when different products use common processes but differ in their material. The advantage of operation costing system is that some products are mass-produced and can be customized to order, which cost accountants use the operation costing system. Using operation-costing system could be more accurate to record the cost of product because it separates materials for  each type of products and allocate the conversion costs through departments. Also, because much of the production is the same for all products manufacture, accountants use operation costing to distinguish these costs and determine individual product costs However, operation-costing system is more complex to calculate, company should require collecting much more data comparing to process costing or job costing. It needs to compute the units of production and the product cost of each unit according to the information of materials be collected and the unit of equivalent products. Activity-Based Costing System Activity-based costing (ABC) is two-stage product costing method that first assigns costs to activities and then assigns them to products based on the products’ consumption of activities. The use of ABC is especially important to businesses that provide customized products or services. A customized production environment requires ABC’s allocation of actual indirect costs to a product to identify its true cost. Implementing ABC is a challenging task for any business and the process carrying several advantages and disadvantages. One of advantage of ABC system is to improve business processes. It allocates indirect cost based on a product’s cost drive or the factor that creates the cost, which would be more accurate than the other costing methods. ABC can be used to identify non-valued added activities and can help to better allocate resources to efficient and profitable activities. Another advantage of ABC system is to identify wasteful products. ABC can allow the business to better understand where overhead costs are going. The data can identify wasteful products and unnecessary costs, so that resources can be used productively. The method also helps to fix the price of products or services that are excessive or incorrect. Overall product and service quality can improve as ABC’s data details production and cost issues that need to be resolved. Additionally, ABC system tends to reduce per unit cost of high volume products and increase per unit cost of low volume products, but the impact is more dramatic on the low volume products. However, implementing an ABC system can be expensive and time-consuming. Manager should break down business activities into each activity’s individual components. The entire process needs to collect much valuable resource as data to measure and enter into the new system.  Businesses may also require hiring the assistance of a consultant who specializes in the setup of an ABC system and provide training for them. Moreover, using ABC system sometimes is easily to misinterpret the data. It is also possible that some ABC may be irrelevant in certain decision-making scenarios. For instance, ABC does not conform to accounting standard and should not be used for external reporting. Since traditional cost figures tend to be the norm, interpreting ABC data along with regular accounting information can be confusing and lead to bad decision-making. Recommend a Costing Method to D.C. D.C. is a small but growing company trying to survive in an industry with many players. This small company has limited staff and they do not currently track actual cost information during production. However, D.C. has the competitive advantage that it combines high-quality, variety of flavors and custom labeling together. Due to D.C.’s high-end process, high volume and various types of chocolates, I recommend D.C. use operation costing system that combines the process costing and job costing together. Firstly, D.C. has three sizes of chocolate, which are 1.25 oz. bar, 3.0 oz. bar and 3.25 oz. Bar. And the three sizes bar can be divided into two types chocolates that are organic and non-organic. The different materials will be added into production to get various flavors. Thus, the martial of production that is direct cost can use job-costing method. Using job order costing is that it allows D.C. to calculate the profit earned on individual jobs, helping them to better decide w hether specific job are desirable to pursue in the future. Job order costing also makes easy to keep track of the production, identify spoilage and defects to take corrective actions during the period of production. Then, the labor cost should be included in product cost. Direct labor comes from pouring, inspecting, foiling and labeling. Notice that larger bars can be inspected twice as fast as the smaller bars. Because each area might be working on multiple customer jobs at a time, it is difficult to track labor hours for each customer order. Therefore, using the job costing system records the different type of customer order, which would be more accurate to record labor cost. And we should also calculate equivalent unit to compute labor cost per bar for each department. Finally, for the overhead cost which is indirect cost, each product is produced using the  same process, which means there is no difference in the overhead costs for the different products. So it is suitable to use process-costing method. And process costing is more flexible in allocating conversion costs, because it only accumulates the total costs and allocates the costs to each department or process. The operation costing system is a flexible way to handle high-volume or low-volume production month. It is used when different products use common processes but differ in their materials. When the volume is high, D.C. company do not need to hire more employee to work because the combination of job costing and process costing could figure out the mass production. Also, the operation costing can easily find any mistakes and don’t have to wait till the end of the month to fix the problem. Handling the new special order and new cost Recent order from the wellness company shows that bars can have one or more types of special flavors and ingredient additives. Bars with higher-cost flavor additives such as coffee and Kava can be viewed as direct cost. Thus, they would be treated for the same as direct materials and be allocated to the specific products. But less expensive additives, such as flavoring oils are not included in direct costs and these cost usually show up in overhead cost. In addition to the direct materials cost for these ingredients, there is additional labor required for stirring to achieve equal distribution throughout the bar. Moreover, the labeling design cost for new special order is overhead cost, which is related to the product cost. So it would be allocated to the specific product separately as well. Summary and Implementation In conclusion, I will recommend the company using the operation costing system, which combine the job costing and process costing. In case of DC the manufacturing environment is complex. Product in its initial stages has identical processing, and then is finished using specific procedure like adding activities or customized packaging. The method accounts for costs based on difference in the products. Also operation costing as it will give clear cost of products and their profitability. It will help Kay to set up the price of the products will help him to determine most profitable product. In order to calculate the cost of chocolate bar, we should require  the actual production for organic and non-organic bars, cost of ingredients for special orders and additional training and labor hours for special order.

Turning Point Essay

Mercedes Sitzler February 14th , 2013 ENG101 TuThu 11:30-12:45 Turning Point Essay Goodbye Fear, Hello New Life My friends never judged me, looked at me differently, or lost respect for me. To them, I was still the same Mercedes; I was simply just attracted to women. Being homosexual was not something I decided, or something I could control. My friends understood this and accepted me for who I was. I was not scared to tell a single one of my friends that I was gay; however, for some odd reason, I was beyond terrified of telling my parents. My parents have always been extremely supportive of me and every decision I have made in my life.Why was I so scared that would all change if I told them the truth? To tell them that their little girl was not going to walk down the aisle to meet a man in a tuxedo at the end. To tell them that my children would not be made the usual way but through insemination. To tell them that I am gay. I was still the same daughter I always was. I knew my parent s would love me no matter what; but, deep down, telling them the truth about my sexuality was the biggest fear I had in life. I was scared that the loving Mommy and Daddy I always knew I had would turn into judgmental and distant Tanya and Dean.Let us rewind back a little over a year ago when I came to realize, in myself, that I was lesbian. I had been dating this girl for maybe a month. I would see her almost every day behind my parents’ back. We would do everything any other couple would; date nights, cuddle, argue, make up, and argue some more. However, sometimes I thought to myself, â€Å"Maybe this is just a phase. † I knew that I liked her, but I questioned myself, â€Å"why? † and â€Å"how? † when I had always liked boys. One night, I decided to link up with an old ex of mine. My girlfriend and I were on a break because we had been fighting for a while.My ex and I went out to a party with a couple of friends and had a blast. The company of my ex w as great; he was an awesome guy. The emotional connection; however, was not all there. This was not because we had a harsh break up or anything, I just saw him in a completely different way. I was still questioning everything and at the end of the night, we kissed. My stomach turned and my head throbbed, I was disgusted. It was not what I wanted at all. It was not the same as kissing my girlfriend. It was not the same as holding onto my petite woman. It was not for me. This was the exact moment I realized that women were for me.I cannot control how I feel or what my heart wants, but I can control with whom I decide to share my life with. There is no doubt in the back of my mind that I will marry a woman and build an amazing life with her. About four months later I made the biggest decision of my life. It was the most nerve wrecking moment ever. I did not know what to expect, but I knew it had to be done sooner or later. It was April 21st, and I decided to come out of the closet to m y mom and dad. I have never kept such a huge secret from my parents and it was so hard for me to keep the biggest secret I had from them.I had been shopping all day with my best friend Marina for an outfit to wear the next day. It was the annual Gay Pride parade. My mom knew that I was attending; however, I had told her that I was going to support my gay friend David. I bravely walked into my house with a newly purchased button pinned right on my favorite denim vest. It said, â€Å"Come out come out wherever you are† with a cute little rainbow right underneath the words. I laughed about it, showing my mom, and she was very quick to ask me, â€Å"Are you trying to tell me something? Even though she said it with a smile on her face and laughing at the same time, my heart began beating faster than ever before. I replied, â€Å"Maybe†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and she giggled. â€Å"Well, looks like I’m not getting grandkids from you! † It turned out that she had had a feeling for a while and already knew. My dad was standing in the kitchen and laughed about the whole situation. His response was simply, â€Å"Hey, at least we have something in common. † I was so terrified to come out to them for no reason at all. My parents love me for who I am, not for my sexuality, and they proved that to me that exact night.My parents are the best parents in the entire world. That moment completely changed the way I live my life. I used to live with secrets and sneak off to be with my girlfriend; now I live freely and do not have to hide anything. My parents have met my ex-girlfriend and loved her company. They have also met my current lover and enjoy her company even more. The best feeling in the world is feeling accepted from the two most important people in my life. To be able to have my girl over at my house for dinner, or a movie, or just to hang out is amazing.I love being able to explain to my mom why I just smiled at a text message or tell her the stori es of me and my girl. I love knowing that my dad still wants to protect me from being hurt over a female, and can sit and talk to me about my relationships with girls. I love that I am me and they accept that. One day, I will fall in love with the perfect woman and walk down the aisle to her standing there, as beautiful as ever. My mommy and daddy will be sitting right in the front row supporting me and my future wife because of the conversation we had on April 21st, 2012.

An Homage Of Pina Bausch

ï » ¿ Review: Pina This homage of Pina Bausch was a truly enticing spectacle. Wim Wenders assembled a cohesive tribute to the life and work of this spectacular choreographer, showcasing several astounding performances. Pina exemplified how dance is considered a great performance art, and her legacy is well represented in this documentary. While watching the performances, one of the most influential aspects of the production was the convergence of music and movement. It contributed to the overall mood and played a tremendous role in shaping the audience’s conception of the overall piece. I particularly enjoyed the ensemble of dancers and music in The Rite of Spring. In this dance, the music reinforced the drab, overworked, and distraught individuals. Each group, composed of males and females, moved to its own beat until the groups would converge and move as one. This dance displayed Pina’s pure creativity and genius. The most challenging aspect of the piece for me, had to be the intention and meaning behind the city dances. The dance was beautiful in the light of the background of mundane metropolis, but the dancer evoked a feeling of self-deprecating discontent. Her garments, emotions, and physicality screamed of utter misery. The only way I believe I could describe the dance would be to call the performance, an urban catastrophe. Not to contend that the performance was chaotic, but to suggest the oddity of the juxtaposition of the background and subject. Specifically, the dance on the train car did not make a bit of sense; cardboard ears, shrouded faces, and mechanical screeches became far too complex and downright confusing. I think that these performances offer a statement about the beauty of choreography and movement that can be experienced in any type of setting, yet it was difficult to follow. If I had the pleasure of interviewing the choreographer, I would ask about the inner motivations for her work. Much of what she has created had never been seen before i n the world of dance, so her ideas must stem from some diverse background. As I watched Contact Place, I was struck by the exhibition of beauty. This piece was much more vibrant than its predecessors, incorporating color to the set and costumes. The dancers modeled their hair, teeth, nails, hips, and outfits to display their conventionalized beauty. I wish to know where the ideas for this performance originated. I was very glad to be exposed to the collected works of Pina. Her contributions to the world of performance art are insurmountable, and her legacy will endure for many years to come. My hope is that her ideas displayed in the dances of this documentary will spark new motivations in choreographers worldwide to keep creativity at the heart of talented performance.

Women in Muslim Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Women in Muslim Society - Essay Example Therefore, the requisite of belief for Muslims is a relatively simple one; if you recognize that the ancient prophets had some conception of the true nature of God, then you are capable of leading a holy and virtuous path. Faith demands adherence to the code of laws, and a recognition of the nature of mankind and his place within the world. The Qur'an makes it clear that no restrictions should be placed upon who can be saved spiritually based upon sex, culture, race, class, or the actions of others. However, these stipulations upon entry into heaven do not formally empower women in their social relationships. Although a person of any sex or ethnicity possesses the capacity to recognize Allah as the one true God and Muhammad as his prophet in virtually all Muslim societies, many of these societies rely upon tribal law and gender traditions to determine particular power structures. The consequence of this is that in a number of Muslim societies women are explicitly identified as being inferior to men and, accordingly, are forced to occupy purely subservient positions. Of course, violence against women has been recognized as a global pandemic, which is not at all exclusive to the Islamic world: "The situation has lead public health experts to consider violence against women a global public health issue, one requiring a public health approach."1 Domestic abuse is common across virtually all cultures and religions to a very high degree; but in many Islamic societies - the Arab world in particular - violence against women could be far more prevalent than in the West, stemming partially from the underground, behind-closed-door character of women in these societies and partially from the widespread acceptance of domestic violence by the male-dominated, ruling sects. As a result, "Research carried out in several Arab countries, however, shows that at least one out of three women is beaten by her husband."2 It has been argued by a number of Western theorists that violence is endemic to Muslim societies; violence against those of other religions and violence against those occupying a lower-rung on the social ladder - women - are both justified within the overall Muslim worldview, according to these theorists. In Islam, within any given community, the rights of the underprivileged are such that they are justified in overthrowing those institutions that are deemed unjust, so long as the injustice lies clearly outside the teachings of the Qur'an. One of the difficulties with this position is that if the practices of other societies are unjust with respect to the teachings of Muhammad and Islam, then there is good reason to work to physically bring down these societies so they better adhere to the paths of virtue. So, quite often, cross-societal violence is clearly justified. But the reverse of this situation is also superficially justified; if the underprivileged of society are deemed to be behaving in an immoral manner, then violence against them is also justified. Although comprehensive studies and, therefore, accurate data is scarce, is has been often suggested that this justification for violence against women is quite prevalent in nations such as Afghanistan and Pakistan.3 Efforts to overcome these rationalizations for such violence have come largely from the West, though much of the propaganda has been aimed at appealing

Pierre Auguste Renoir Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pierre Auguste Renoir - Essay Example Renoir born on 1845 February 25 and died on December 3 1919 was a French artist who contributed greatly to the movement of Impressionism. The movement is about the artists were not allowed to conduct exhibitions privately. They have to give their paintings to the official salon. Renoir gave some of his paintings to the salon and also at he same time dared to conduct exhibitions privately. He was very innovative and always experimented with his work and brought out new methods of paintings with which the work looked exclusively special. The paintings of Renoir give an impression that the figure in the image is coming out of the image, as though the sunrays are falling on the hats or window, as though there is so much delight in the life of a women or the one portrayed, as though some thing special is hidden in them. The freshness and the openness make us feel divine for a moment and we feel are we in the heaven where there is nothing but joy. One must have an artistic heart to understand the art. Renoir's paintings when viewed, I learned that he frequently painted the landscapes along with other artists of impressionism. He imitated other artists like Cezanne, with small parallel strokes of brush. It is also observed that he was fairly capable enough of painting landscapes but failed experimenting with them. I have chosen the work of Pierre Auguste Renoir because they are not only great but also pretty and whose work seems always to have been done in paradisiacal temperatures. There might be probably no artist to compare with Renoir whose work is with attractive sentiments of charming people. The images look so lively as though she is alive there with living skin. Not only fresh but the way they look can't be explained. Renoir paintings show joy even in the modern days with some chocolate box qualities. People considered his paintings as just pretty and superficial but infact they are profound and done away with intellectuality of the posers and sitters. From the artist the technique to show the bright sun light, the shaded areas, the strokes of brush and the apt color compositions to the nature are the things to learn. Renoir made a self-conscious attempt to make the grand painting through which he conquered the high society and the painting salon or the exhibition as informality of eighteenth century. The painting showed his novel combination of fluid impressionist technique. Here one must remember Vigee-Lebrun. Catulle Mendes was a celebrated poet, publicist, and impresario. He survived with his wife Augusta Holmes, a legendary beauty and a talented musician and his five children. The golden tresses of her were inherited in her daughters also. Renoir's painting "Madame Charpentier and Her Children" fetched much fame and to recall that fame and success he requested his friend Mendes for his consent to paint his three beautiful daughters. His friend Mendes was a publisher of Symbolist poetry and a well-known writer. Mendes wife and his companion Augusta Holmes, an expert pianist and a composer, was the mother of these girls whose names are Claudine, Huguette, and Helyonne. Renoir appealed to his friend like "I beg you to tell me immediately if you want portraits done of your beautiful children. I shall exhibit them [at the Impressionist exhibition] in May, so you can see why I am in a hurry. I shall do the drawings at your house and the portrait at mine". In the painting the eldest girl is seated at the piano and turns to her

Journal Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Journal - Article Example Statistics indicate that homeownership among the young people who are through with college and whom are under 35 years of age has reduced from 43% to 36% from 2004 and this is a massive decrease. Even though with the reduction in inflation the debts are bound to be reduced, this is just a speculation and is yet to be fulfilled. The government should be encouraging an increase in homeownership amongst the younger generation and they should start with reduction of the interest rates in college loans. The increase in interest is discouraging those aspiring to join college to pull back as they foresee a future with no other development other than student loan repayment which is bad for the economy in future. Even though the college student loan comes as a savior for most families that cannot afford college education, it is still a burden people are continually afraid of and it drains their morale of development leading homeownership for example for old people who are not bound to enjoy more. Mitchell, J. (June 20th, 2014). â€Å"Student Debt Takes a Toll on Some Home Buyers.† The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from:

Saudi Airline and the Privatisation Dissertation

Saudi Airline and the Privatisation - Dissertation Example However, in essence, it refers to the shift of partial or full responsibility for a function performed by the public sector or government to the private sector. The most common usage of the term takes place when a public sector entity is divested, either through sale or a long term lease, to a private entity (Veljanovski & Bentley, 2008, p. 42). However, technically, the granting of a long term franchise or concession to the private sector investors, where they would build, manage and operate a major project also falls under the umbrella of privatisation. Furthermore, in a third type of privatisation, a government entity retains control of the strategic direction of the public service but allows a private entity to deliver a public service. This form of privatisation is commonly known as outsourcing or contracting (Bortolotti, et al., 2004, pp. 330). Reasons for Privatisation As argued by Megginson & Netter (2001) that the government usually justifies privatisation with three reasons . First, privatisation generates revenue which could be used to reduce the fiscal deficits and pay off debts. Throughout the history, in times of dire need, huge debts and fiscal deficits, policymakers have resorted to privatisation of the SOEs s that they reduce fiscal deficits and pay off the public debt (Bos, 2011, p. 41). Consider the ongoing example of the European Sovereign Debt Crisis, where countries such as Spain, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Iceland and others are facing a difficult time in meeting their debt obligation. Many of the European countries have sold off several public entities to generate much needed revenue. In fact, many countries that have acquired bailouts from International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB) have had to sign agreements promising the privatisation of several underperforming public sector institutions. Therefore, in these countries, privatisation is an attempt at bailing out the government and the SOEs. Second, policymakers mig ht also undertake privatisation to reverse the effects of â€Å"crowding out† within markets and encourage the private enterprises to take the lead. As apparent from the theory of crowding out, when governments, while following an expansionary fiscal policy, increase the size of the public sector, it drives out the private sector from the market (Cashore, 2002, p. 505). More importantly, in several cases, even a moderate increase in public sector might drive out several private entities. Therefore, when public sector entities leave the competitive arena, with their monopoly, concessions, subsidies, unlimited funds and several other advantages, it encourages the private sector to enter the market (Vickers & Yarrow, 1988, p. 52). When the government no longer is there to distort the market, the market forces ensure effective and efficient resource allocation, which not only generates employment

Is Marxs analysis of capitalism still valid today Essay

Is Marxs analysis of capitalism still valid today - Essay Example These among other economic predictions are some of the reasons that supplement Marx’s relevance in the present time. The ideology of the social structures and economic interests dictate the political movements and intellectual conceptions of the people. This fact is evident in many circumstances in the present day. The political parties nowadays are controlled by the association of certain members of the public with clear and similar goals. These parties with a particular member associations define the economic state of the nation considering the people they represent. Marx developed this theory in 1840 so as to explain the different systems of royalism that France had that were affecting the social structure. In Marx’s view, he claimed that the economic interests revolved around the social groups (Schumpeter 2013, p. 20). Politically, it is possible to rise to power through reaching out to these groups and changing the economic status of a nation will certainly affect these groups. In the last presidential elections of the united states of America the tea party which supported the candidate mitt Romney was formed as a result of being fed up from the taxes of the Obama administration. The tea party started as a social group that were of the opinion they were being taxed more than the usual and the fruits of their taxes were not being experienced. This led to an association of people who wanted to change their financial status, through the changing of the political setup to attain the economic interests of the members (Sperber 2013 ). This is an example of the current events that are applicable to the theories that Marx put out in assessing the leadership of a place relative to the economic status of the region. The labor theory of value is also a Marx ideology which tends to describe the pricing of a commodity in relation to the cost of labor induced in production. A commodity

Russia in the 20th Century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Russia in the 20th Century - Essay Example Nicholas II was the last Tsar of the Romanov Dynasty. He was born in Pushkin, Russia on May 6, 1868 on the Julian calendar, which was used in Russia until 1918. His father was Alexander Aleksandrovich, who was heir to the Russian Empire and was Tsar before Nicholas II. Nicholas II inherited the throne at 26 years old when his father died on October 20, 1894. He was quoted as saying he was not ready for the throne at this time. He married Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt, known publicly as Empress Alexandra, and had 4 daughters and one son. His son, Alexei, was diagnosed with Hemophilia at an early age, and the royal family began to rely heavily on a mystical healer known as Rasputin who would play a large role in later events, and is discussed later in this essay. Nicholas II was not a well-liked ruler and carried the nickname â€Å"Bloody Nicholas† throughout his rule. Several key events that helped shaped the soon to be formed Soviet Union occurred under Nicholas II rule. Du ring his official coronation, a massive crowd formed and thousands of people were stampeded to death. Nicholas II and his wife were totally unaware of the event and proceeded to the Coronation Ball. This revealed him as a ruler who was oblivious of his subjects.

Liberation Theology and Marxism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Liberation Theology and Marxism - Essay Example By contrast, Marxism is an earthbound ideology, content to reward or punish those in the here and now based on their support of the ideals of fairness, equality and the distribution of wealth. Both Christianity and Marxism are fundamentally concerned with promoting the general welfare and improving the lives of the vast majority of the world's citizens, yet both have suffered as much damage to their credibility from followers as from opponents. The extreme and selfish proponents of these ideologies have severely undermined their cause through the organization of vast bureaucracies that leave precious little time for doing the real work of making lives easier. At the same time, both Christianity and Marxism have a long history of supressing dissident voices and violently repressing infidel movements. Marxist liberation theology as applied to Latin American countries that were systematically exploited first by and then for European, and later American, interests has long been viewed a s an ideological threat to traditional Christian liberation theology. ... Since Christian liberation entailed not just applying to the needs of the oppressed, but also to inculcating an ideology that coerced followers to view the Church and its leaders as infallible, the only possible conclusion one can make is that is that while it is a contradiction to speak of a Christian Marxist, the contradiction lies in the fact that Marxism is much closer to Christ's original intentions for the human race than the religion that was founded in His name. Pope John Paul II directly addressed the issue of liberation theology during the course of his Papacy; not surprising considering that he had first-hand experience with the worst excesses of the perversion of Marxism as practiced under Soviet-dominated totalitarianism. Recognising that Christianity in its purest form had much in common with Marxism in its purest form, Pope John Paul II wisely avoided condemnation of Marxist liberation theology's desire to find a common ground between Christian charity and missionary work and Marxist economics designed to liberate the working classes. It was not the Marxist preoccupation with the incompatibility of capitalist economics and social welfare that John Paul found objectionable. Rather the Pope pointed to the limitations of Marxist liberation; the liberation was not of human suffering, nor the soul, but merely the liberation of one citizen from an undesirable economic circumstance. The question that Marxism doesn't answer, therefore, becomes what happens after the revolution How do the newly liberation people respond to the destruction of the class system. Even Pope John Paul II recognised that the end of Marxism was not

History of dance Essay Example for Free

History of dance Essay How could you leave your country? The place you grew up in, how could you leave your loved ones in a place so bad you had to flee it yourself? The production of ‘Look the other way’ choreographed by Cadi McCarthy is clearly emotionally attached to the performers. Look the other way describes how people had to leave their home and become refugees, their fear and hatred needing the encouragement to move forward. The mixture of contemporary and hip hop really drives you into the performance and makes dancers, public and even you feel like a part of the attraction. The choreographer clearly displays the variety of talent and emotive skills that all of the dancers consist of. The different interrogations of each dancer themselves are astonishing, having a wide range from the strength and intensity movements by Peter Fares to the smooth, soft and meaningful movements danced by Yillin Kong. The artistic use of props and lighting gives the texture of the movements on the performers and their facial expressions gave an overwhelming feeling inside; it’s a wakeup call to seeing how lucky we are as a country. This was a very effective way to get the audience’s attention. Having to look the other way when all you feel is hopelessness is a very difficult thing to do. The characters make you feel as if they are portraying their country, getting away from the outrageousness and the terror. Sharing their side of the horrific stories. All distributing the same emotions betrayal and being forced to look the other way. The choreographer immersed herself into the stories of the young people who had overcome the sacrifice of fleeing their country to have freedom in Australia. Cadi McCarthy clearly and successfully got her intent to the target audience (young students) expressing the dreadful descriptions by educating us through contemporary and hip hop dance. There are seven characters (not including the two boys who are still learning English) in the performance, each with different difficulties and reports to share with the world. They all show tolerance and ignorance to not give up and not give in. The movements and space used in this choreography by Cadi McCarthy entitles the effects and emotions she wants the audience to feel. Each performer had their own special techniques which was used to their advantage. Movements such as slowly walking, shaking, and closed shapes, sharp turns, counter balancing and falling, these are indications of being pushed around. The fast, muscular movements were intimidating and in each other’s personal space. The most significant peace was the Riot (Fight scene) which was done in a group, but danced in duets. Showing the mob mentality, strength and power, giving the truthful facts that no matter how many times you’re pushed down, you shall thrive to get back up again, keep moving forward. The costumes seemed rushed and not restricted which gave them freedom to move the clothing looking very unfavourable. Using very natural colours such as black, skin colour, white, and a flowered dress worn by Yillin showing the audience that they were in a rush, all they had was the clothing on their backs. The lighting effects by Andrew Portwine was dim and organic to set the mood, the angles of the light reflected off the dancers faces to give texture, dark gloomy looks. The overall costumes and lighting was more than successful and gave the illusion to hardship for the audience. Tristen Parr and Matt Cornell did exceptional work on the soundtrack. The music had been made from scratch so it was an original peace. In the performance the music was recorded and instrumental throughout. You could feel the classical vibrations as if atmospherical, representing the extreme adversity and struggles (Production2; Sacrifice, where videos are used to tell us about true stories). There were sections of the performance where the sound was live, like the word monologues where each dancer talks about accountings explaining what it was like to be a refugee (Peter Fares holding Yillin Kong on his shoulder while telling the story of his parents from Israel, Lebanon, and Syria to Australia). The most memorable and major feature of the props used was the ‘Opening boards’ (Designed by Laura Boynes and Tristan Parr) where the characters drag themselves across the stage and stand up onto a rocking board, representing the uncertainty to travel, external and internal fear of leaving their loved ones, the experience’s to come. Using the boards as a boat and steps revealing their long journey to find freedom, using the rocking motion traveling the entire emotional ride with the characters. The boards drew the audience’s attention straight away to the restlessness and fear. The backdrop of four walls that were recycled substances designed by Monique Wajon (makeshift of materials found in refugee camps). These props communicated to the audience giving meaning and belief to the dance. The Buzz Dance Theatre has accomplished in reproducing all viewpoints of refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers. Every possible aspect of contemporary and hip hop dance was put into this performance to accomplish the priorities and achievements of triumphing to the top. Each dancer attributes to the story in individual ways choreographed by Cadi McCarthy. I personally found that every phase used for this special performance including characters, music, costumes, choreography, set and props all worked exceptionally well together to produce a stimulating and significant enactment. Although a little dark I was defiantly motivated at the end of the performance.

How dependent are Americans on foreign oil Essay Example for Free

How dependent are Americans on foreign oil Essay 1.0 Introduction â€Å"We have a serious problem. America is addicted to oil.† George Bush made this assertion in his 2006 State of the Union address. By 2025 the United States will increase its daily consumption of oil to 28.3 million barrels per day. These estimates by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that by then, the US will depend on foreign countries for 70% of its oil needs. The United States of America (USA) depends on foreign nations for 66% of the oil it consumes. According to the EIA, currently the US consumes almost 21 million barrels of oil a day. Unfortunately, this amount of oil is not produced locally so the US has to depend on foreign nations for its consumption of oil. The dependence on oil by the US has a number of effects which include: impact on the nation’s economy; determines US foreign policy; shapes national security; and influences the relationship between the US and other nations (Ebe 2). The aforementioned effect which dependence on foreign oil has caused creates problems for the US. One of the major problems is the fact that the US is dependent on other nations for its energy supplies. Since the US is dependent on these nations for oil, the events in these oil producing nations determine to a large extent, what happens in the US. There is need for the US to resolve this energy situation, because dependence on other nations for oil rids the US of its sovereignty as an independent nation. 1.1 Statement of problem Oil is a very useful resource as it used by many industries. Many industrialized nations of the world, like the US, need large amounts of oil to keep their economies going. Over time, the US has become dependent on foreign nations for its oil needs- while local oil production has plummeted, demand is on the rise. Since the US is so dependent on foreign oil, what are the implications of this dependence? 1.2 Dependence on foreign oil: an effects analysis The dependence on foreign oil by the US has a lot of implications. The effect of this situation makes an impact on the economy, foreign policy, national security and international relations. These four perspectives are explored in further detail below. Effects on the US economy. Dependence on foreign oil supplies has had a profound effect on the US economy. One major evidence of this fact is the constant fluctuation of prices of gas due to changes in prices of oil. In other words, once the price of oil changes, then the price of gas in the US shifts accordingly. This has a profound effect on companies and other businesses that use gas. In the past year, oil prices have soared due to a number of factors in the world. Once these prices climb, it means that the consumer in the US has to pay more for goods and services that are related in one way or other to oil. Changes in the prices of oil in the world create shocks which are felt when prices of goods and services increase. However, the US economy would not have had to deal with these shocks if there wasn’t a high dependence on foreign oil. Furthermore, the constant increase in the price of crude oil in global markets leads to the transfer of huge amounts of money to other cou ntries in foreign trade. US foreign policy. Concerns about US dependence on oil have had an influence on its foreign policy. Various governments are aware of US dependence on foreign oil and have taken moves to protect the integrity of the US. Most people around the world believe that the US meddles in the affairs of other countries especially those in the Middle East because of the oil reserves in these places. If there is instability in the Middle East, it will drastically affect the supply of oil to the US. Thus, in order to protect it’s and ensure the constant flow of foreign oil (upon which the US is dependent), the US government takes measures to ensure peace and rule of law in these places. Haley (9-10) echoes the voice of critics who contend that the U is keen on maintaining stability in the Middle East because of the implication which crisis will cause the US since it relies so heavily on foreign oil. This is evident in the Gulf war and the recent invasion of Iraq. These actions by the US hav e created hatred in the hearts of people in the Middle East towards the US. Impact on national security. The dependence on foreign oil by the US has an impact on its national security as well. It can be argued that the dependence on foreign oil by the US has led it get involved in the affairs of other nations of the world. For example, the Middle East is a region which the US does not ignore and it is in this region that the largest reserves of crude oil abound. The US cannot afford to ignore this region because it needs the oil that is produced from these areas. Sadly, many of these countries are places where there is a lot of unrest and oppressive governments and the US gets a share of violent attacks because it relates with these nations. This situation has brewed hatred in the hearts of many and motivated attacks against the US both home and abroad. With the terror attacks on September 11 2001, the US is aware of the threat to national security and the lives of its citizens at home and abroad. Terrorist groups are aware that oil is the centre of the US e conomy and when they target this sector, they will inadvertently cripple the US economy and bring it to her knees. Relations with other nations. The relationship between the US and other nations is also affected to some extent by the dependence on foreign oil by the US. Apart from the US, other countries in the world have vested interests in oil because they too depend to a large extent on oil. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and other â€Å"iron curtain† countries, China has risen as an industrial giant. These industries are largely fuelled by oil and in order to achieve its aim and remain in the lead, China has improved relations with many oil producing countries and opposes restrictions imposed on these places by the US at the United Nations general assembly. These relationships between the US and other nations are founded upon dependence on oil. The dependence on foreign oil by the US has led to complex relationships between the US and other nations. At close observation, the root cause of these relationships is often not noticeable, but exploring deeper brings out the dependence on oil by the US. On the other hand it is important to look at this issue in another perspective. Most of the countries which produce oil are undemocratic. Infact, some of them have oppressive rulers and since the US depends on foreign oil, these governments become prominent. The fact that they are producers of oil propels them to lime light because the US needs this foreign oil so badly. 1.3 Relevant statistics Certain statistics are important in order to understand the dependence on foreign oil by the US. There was a time in the past when the US was the world’s largest producer of crude oil. But all that has changed now. According to the EIA, Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest exporter of crude oil and will remain so for a while because it holds 24% of the worlds oil reserves. Conversely, the Middle East holds 66% of the world’s oil reserve and supplies 30% of oil in the world. The dependence on foreign oil by the US has been worrisome to past administrations. According to Randall, President Richard Nixon established â€Å"Project Independence† to stop America’s dependence on foreign nations for oil. Furthermore, President Gerald Ford approved the regulation of petroleum prices, established the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and signed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. On his part, President Jimmy Carter signed the national Energy Act to encourage the development of local sources of energy. 1.4 Probable solutions There is growing need to decrease America’s dependence on foreign oil due to the many problems which the phenomenon poses. It is imperative to develop alternate sources of energy in the US so that dependence on oil can gradually be lifted. Dependence on foreign oil may not be lifted totally but a gradual lifting of this dependence is important. Apart from oil, there are alternate sources of energy which should be explored in the US with the backing of the government and private sector so that these initiatives can be widely adopted. In the first place transportation is a major consumer of gasoline, so cars should be made to run on other sources of power such as electricity which is cleaner and will lower carbon emissions in to the atmosphere. Apart from electricity, wind energy too can be harnessed to power industries. Furthermore, dams built on rivers can generate vast amounts of electricity. Biological fuels too are important and these too need to be developed and used to lessen America’s dependence on oil. The current economic crisis in the world is an indicator to many people to cut costs. However, with the rising cost of crude oil, cost cutting will mean learning to do without crude oil and using other alternate sources of energy. Most of the alternate source of energy mentioned here are not harmful to the environment and the other benefit about them is that they are renewable as well. It does not matter how vast a country’s oil reserves are. There will come a time when these reserves will deplete. If the US continues to depend on foreign oil, what will be done when these countries no longer have oil to sell? The situation is best imagined. 1.5 Conclusion Obviously, the US needs to look else where to satisfy her energy needs. The switch from oil to alternative sources of energy may take a while but the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. This switch has become all the more important considering the amount of hatred which is shown to everything American, especially by terrorists from the Middle East. Much of the world knows that the US economy is affected by oil supplies- cripple this and you bring the world greatest nation to its knees.

Skills of a mental health nurse

Skills of a mental health nurse Mental Health Insight Exercise 1 Mental wellbeing is the ability for one to have a stable mentality about life, someone who goes about day-to-day activities with an open mind. According to MIND, a good mental wellbeing is about an individual is able to do concerning valuing and accepting oneself. This mental wellbeing can be achieved by caring for or about oneself, recognising yourself to be a valuable individual in your own right, not having to earn the right to exist and you tend to judge yourself on realistic standards. Health Challenge Wales website also illustrated mental wellbeing as; everyone has emotional and mental health needs. Sustaining good mental health is significant because it affects how we reflect and feel about ourselves as well as others. It can also affect how we deal with everyday life events, such as relationships and dealing with change. Signs of people experiencing mental health problems may vary widely, however people suffering from early stages of mental health illness may not notice changes that are occurring but these changes may be obvious to others. Some common signs may be changes in the way they feel, lack of sleep, not feeling hungry, not caring about their appearance, lethargic, low energy levels, equally feeling highly energetic, wanting to go out a lot, becoming a lot more creative and sociable may signs of high. Hearing voices is one of the main signs and this can be very distressing for a first timer. Some people can start to see images no one else sees and this may cause immense distress. Biological are those which are biological in nature. They can include our individual genetic make-up and the way that this might put us at more or less risk than others. It has also been found that those who have suffered (usually more severe) head injuries can also experience changes to their personality, and in some cases may begin to experience schizophrenia and psychotic type symptoms. The misuse of substances or illness of mothers during pregnancy, (such as through picking up viruses like the flu) can also lead to changes in their babys development which may ultimately effect their mental health. Recent reports have also suggested that vitamin and mineral deficiencies such as Vitamin D, zinc and certain fatty acids may also be related to our mental health and the development of neurological symptoms. Social factors are those factors around us such as where we live, whether we have strong support networks, (close family and friends who make us feel safe and who we can rely on) our place of work and how and where we can relax. Physical environments such as the neighbourhood where you live can be very stressful, particularly when there are problems with neighbours, or where there are high crime rates and other such issues. Whetheryou enjoyyour work, or feelyou are under too much pressure, are unable to find employment or hold down a job, can all put pressure onyour mental well-being. These kinds of problems will increase the amount of stress people are under, and can cause depression and anxiety, especially in situations where individuals are unable to make changes to alleviate the stressors. When we face difficult times our support networks become very important those who do not have close friends or families, or those who do not live near the people who support them may find it in creasingly difficult to cope alone. Psychological factorscan influence your mental and emotional state, particularly if you arecoping with traumatic and abusive past or current experiences. Significant life events, like bereavement, divorce or if you have self-destructive thought patterns and perceptions, can impact on your mental health. For example, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and in more extreme cases Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID – in the past referred to as multiple personality disorder) are all mental health conditions that are commonly found in people who have been abused. Exercise 2 Integrated care pathways (ICP) are multidisciplinary outlines of expected care, to be used by health professionals to assist service users with particular conditions to move step by step through clinical experiences to attain constructive outcomes. ICPs are important and help to minimise unnecessary variations in patient care and outcomes, however there are circumstances where these variations from pathways are necessary to attain a positive clinical outcome. The importance of ICPs is that they also improve the communication and collaboration between multidisciplinary teams; it also empowers and informs patients and carers to meet the clinical requirements (Middleton S et al, 2001). ICP also encourages local services to assess their own practice and then use that evidence to decide whether the right skills are available to meet the service users’ needs. The NHS QIS illustrates some of variations of the integrated care pathways of mental health illnesses such as dementia etc. It iterates the planning of patients care using a patient centred approach, in that the care provided must be planned with the patient and their informal carers. It also looks into the patient being allowed to make informed decisions on the treatment and care they receive. Some of the interventions to take place include; A generic but comprehensive assessment which looks to identify physical and mental health, social housing and other needs. Measures of needs are also part of the ICP which aids the service user and the carers to identify how well services will tackle those needs. A generic care plan that involves all the care environments and identifies care needs. The ICP guides the professional undertaking the care plan to take into account past experience, cause of the current state, if present previously what was done to reduce the symptoms at the time. The diagnosis of dementia can be made using the ICP records that a diagnosis of dementia (and subtype) is made following a full assessment including history taking (including from third party), cognitive assessment, mental condition examination and general physical examination and investigations as recommended by SIGN 86 guidelines. Information about dementia should be made available to the client. The ICP records that, depending on the person’s level of capacity, information is given to the service users and/or carers, about benefits, future management of finances and personal welfare. The ICP records that information is provided about benefits and concessions personal welfare powers of attorney, and sources of independent legal and financial advice. It also looks into the vulnerability of people with dementia, that is recording the risk of abuse and neglect to patients are assessed. With all these assessments undertaken and it becomes apparent that client suffers may show signs of dementia, a referral needs to be made again by the assessor as per the ICP referral guidelines to the community mental health team for a specialist assessment and diagnosis. Exercise 3 One of the most important skills a nurse can possess is the ability to establish a relationship. Within mental health setting this ability has been described to be crucial as it is the factor that determines the success of interventions of service users who need psychiatric care. Within mental health nurse-patient relationship requires trust (Videbeck S, 2010). On my first placement in an inpatient ward, I was not sure what to say and when to see anything. A client then approached me and asked my name and how long I was there for. My immediate reaction was one of sock and again relaxation. I answered the questions he put to me and that from the knowledge I have gather was the beginning of a relationship. Peplau’s model of nursing also illustrates the use of self to promote an effective and therapeutic care delivery. Elder et al defines self as the concept that describes the core of our personality. He also illustrates that the nurses describe congruency, realness and accuracy as a means of projecting the nurse’s true self. Being self aware allows us to be know how to respond to specific situations and knowing our values, attitudes and biases towards people and situations and about knowing how our human needs reflect in our work. Self-disclosure is used by mental health nurses to again develop therapeutic relationship with clients. In this nurses tend to use their own experience of life to help clients to make sense and appreciate the difficulties of life, this is sometimes immediately or spontaneously noticed by the clients themselves. From the experience above my self awareness with not knowing what to say initially was noticed by the client to enable him come up to me to engage in that conversation. Through the contact with the client a relationship was created where we ended up disclosing circumstances within our lives with each other, I however was aware of how much of my own information I had to pass on to him. For an effective and therapeutic use of self a nurse must be aware of the boundaries round ones own values, beliefs and perception of life as a whole. Once these are addressed then one can easily and effectively use self to the benefit of the client-nurse relationship. Exercise 4 Registered nurse mental health (RNMH) is a nurse who helps psychiatrics, psychologist and other mental health professionals counsel and treat clients with mental disorders. They work within either hospital or community settings. They assist in crisis interventions, help patients with daily care routines, administer medications, and formulate treatment plans and treatment regimens. Psychiatric nurses with masters degrees who complete practice in a supervised clinical situation can become a mental health nurse practitioner. A nursing student should master the therapeutic alliance, which involves the relationship between a mental health nurse, a psychiatric patient and other health care professionals treating the patient. This can be achieved through elective courses, internships and assisting other professionals with patients in a clinical setting. Psychiatric nurses must earn an RN (registered nurse) designation through proper education and certification before practicing professional ly. Registered nurse adult (RN) is also nurses who Reference Videbeck, S. L. 2010, Psychiatric-mental health nursing. 3rd ed, Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. http://www.mhguidelines-leics.nhs.uk/default.aspx?page=oad_guidelines http://www.nhshealthquality.org/nhsqis/files/MENTALHEALTHICP_STAND_APR07.pdf http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/publications/DC20090930dementia.pdf

Effects of Alcohol Essay -- Cause Effect

Effects of Alcohol   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alcohol is a widely used substance for both science and in technology. Its name comes from an Arabic word al-kuhl meaning " a powder for painting the eyes". The term was later applied to all compounds that contain alcoholic spirits.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To most people alcohol is considerd a downer that reduces activity in the nervous system. Some of the things alcohol effects you is, the alcohol intoxicated person exhibits lose muscle tone, loss of fine moter coordination,and often has a staggering "drunken" gait. The eyes may appear somewhat "glossy" and pupils may be slow to respond to stimulus. At high doses pupils may become constricted. At intoxing doses, alcohol can decrease heart rate, lower blood pressure and respiration rate, and result in decreased reflex and slower reaction times. Skin may be cool to touch but to the user may feel warm or normal, profuse sweating may accompany alcohol use. Loose muscle tone, lose of fine motor coordination,odor of alcohol on the breath,and a stagging "drunken"gait.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The effects of alcohol intoxication are greatly influenced by individual variations among users. Some users may become intoxicated at a much lower Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level that I am about to show you. Along with drinking their are different levels to it: 0.02-0.03 BAC: No loss of coorination,slight euphoria and loss of shyness. Depressant effects are not apparent. 0.04-0.06 BAC: Feeling of well-being, relaxation, lower inhibitions, sensation of warmth. Some minor impairment of reasoning and memory, lowering of caution. 0.07-0.09 BAC: Slight impairment of balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing. Judgement and self-control are reduced, and caution, reason and memory are impaired. 0.10-1.125 BAC: Signficant impairment of moter coordination and loss of good judgement. Speech may be slurred; balance, vision,reaction time and hearing will be impaired. (It is illegal to operate a motor vehicle at this level of intoxication.) 0.13-0.15 BAC: Gross motor impairment and lack of physical control. BLurred vision and major loss of balance. Euphoria is reduced and dysphoria beginning to appear. 0.16-0.20 BAC: Dysphoria (anxiety,restlessness) predominates, nausea may appear. The drinker has the appearance of a "sloppy drunk." 0.25 BAC: Needs assistance in walking; total mental confusion.... ...k and smoke, the risk is even higher. BREAST CANCER   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They say that woman's risk of developing breast cancer increases with alcohol consumtion, as well as age. Particularly vulnerable are women over 50 who have been heavy drinkers over a period of years, their chances of developing breast cancer are up to 18 times greater than non-drinkers. Research indicates that alcohol may play an indirect role in this disease by increasing estrogen levels in premenopausal women, whinh in turn may promote breast cancer. Thus, for younger women to lessen their risk of breast cancer, dont drink, or at least limit yourself to no more than one a day. SKIN CANCER   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reserchers say that women who average only two drinks a day, four days a week, are 2 1/2 times more likely to develop melanomia than women who dont drink. Experts recommend that women limit themselves to one drink a day, and men two drinks a day. OTHER CANCERS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some studies have found a link between alcohol use and cancers of the: - colon -stomach -pancreas -lungs. Although theres no evidence that alcohol itelf is a caracinogen, it has been associated with suppression of the human immune system

HEA ACT :: essays research papers

In our society, there are many obstacles that face students who are trying to obtain a college education. First, the student has to do well in high school, pass the S.A.T.’s, and be able to afford to pay for a college education. For those who can’t afford to pay for college there is Financial Aid. But what if financial aid was taken away from students based solely on one minor drug offense? I will address several reasons why I believe the Souder Amendment is unethical and why it should be repealed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Souder Amendment was developed by Rep. Mark Souder that denies financial aid to students with a drug conviction. This amendment is in total contradiction of the Higher Education Act which was developed in 1968 to provide financial aid to over 7 million students each year. Financial Aid was invented to provide financial assistance to students who come from low income families. Seeing how financial aid is solely based on the families financial household income, the money that is awarded to the family should not be in jeopardy if being taken away due to the students prior drug offense. By using this offense as a consequence to committing a drug related crime, it introduces many obstacles for middle class people, 2 minorities, and it ignores the most widely abused drug on college campuses - alcohol.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Working class students are the majority of people that attend college on scholarships and financial aid. While in school, experimentation may introduce itself as something that should be done while attending college. The consequences of allowing yourself to fall victim to drinking or taking drugs previously only had the consequence of a tremendous hang over the next morning. If caught by an official abusing drugs or alcohol, detainment would normally occur and several minor measures would be met to ensure the diversion of attempting to â€Å"experiment† again. But now that the Souder Amendment has been drafted, that one offense prevents a student from obtaining anymore government financed money to attend school. This is unethical to me because after the student realizes their mistakes and suffers the embarrassment of getting caught, they now have the burden of trying to obtain money to continue to pay for school. Quickly raising several thousands of dollars to pay for their next semester rarely happens and they are forced to take a semester off of school to save up so they can enroll the following semester.

“The Sad Fate of Coral Reefs” Essay -- Ecology

It was at a young age that I fell in love with the ocean and the splendor of its biodiversity. It was when I gazed upon the magnificent blue waters of the world that I found my passion. At this young age, I decided that I would pursue a path that involved helping endangered marine organisms. Many conclude that I speak of the more common marine animals, such as dolphins and whales. However, that is not the case. My passion lies with the â€Å"Rainforests of the Sea†, the coral reefs. Coral reefs are the most diverse and biologically richest of all marine ecosystems. As with almost every ecosystem and its members, coral reefs provide several ecosystem services. For instance, coral reefs serve as natural barriers against hurricanes and catastrophic storm surges, their chemicals may treat diseases, and they are a nitrogen fixation. On of the most important functions of coral reefs are that they are a major source of food for people. While they serves as a benefit to humans, coral reefs serve as shelter and food for many organisms, such as sponges, fish, turtles, dolphins, and several other marine life. Coral reefs are, to me, the most incredible organisms present in the world. Generally, coral reefs are overlooked; many do not see their beauty or even know much about them. As I mentioned earlier, coral reefs benefit mankind in many ways, a few examples listed above. Now, I did, indeed, neglect to mention how mankind benefits corals. The reason for this missing aspect is that, as of yet, mankind has truly failed to serve as a benefit for coral reefs. I mentioned that my calling was to help endangered marine animals. Why is it that coral reefs are in need of help? How has mankind affected coral reefs? To begin to discuss how the coral... ...on growth, fishing, and tourism. Nevertheless, I believe that somehow, mankind had positively affected coral reefs. I believe that there have to be people who share my deep admiration for coral reefs and truly value their absolute beauty. Like myself, I believe these people will stop at nothing to protect the reef and its habitats. I hope to, in contrast, further explore mankind’s positive affects on coral reefs before writing my major paper. Works Cited "NOAA's Role." NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. N.p., 02 September 2011. Web. 27 February 2012. "How Pollution Affects Coral Reefs." National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. N.p., 12 December 2006. Web. 27 February 2012. â€Å"Anthrosphere.† Exploring the Environment, Coral Reefs. N.p. 8 March 2004. Web. 27 February 2012. â€Å"Coral reefs: threats.† World Wildlife Fund. N.p. N.d. Web. 27 February 2012.

Prison Gangs Essay

In our prison environments, there are many kinds of threats to inmate and officer safety daily. The correctional system in our country contains many gangs within the walls and connected to our streets. These groups, known as Security Threat Groups, are usually operated by race, and are active in our Federal Bureau of Prisons and in at least 40 state correctional systems. Inmates are pretty much forced to join their racial group or gang to ensure their personal safety while in prison. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, inmates were more racially twisted than ever before, and each race in a facility had a leader if not more than one. Inmates isolate themselves from other racial groups. While this was producing more racial tension in the environment, it was also producing Security Threat Group’s that were getting more organized and skilled at running the drug trade and social environments within the walls of the correctional facilities. Some of these gangs are more organized than others are, and produce the most followers. Because of organizational factors and growing numbers of members, the Aryan Brotherhood, Ku Klux Klan, the and MS-13 have emerged as our biggest security group threats in the American corrections system. The Aryan Brotherhood originated in San Quentin in the mid-sixties and was founded by Barry Mills and Tyler Bingham. This group is one of the best known gangs with many crews in our correctional facilities. The Aryan Brotherhood started to protect white inmates from black inmates during the time that the prisons were integrated. The Aryan Brotherhood is primarily located in the southwest and pacific areas of the country and is weakest in the northeastern areas where blacks are the strongest. The creed of the Brotherhood is, â€Å"I will stand by my brother. My brother will come before all others. My life is forfeited should I fail my brother. I will honor my brother in peace and war. † Members of the Brotherhood are lifetime members who commit to a blood in, blood out oath. This basically means that in order to get in you must kill an enemy and the only way to get out is to be killed. Most members support the white nationalist model, but crime is the real motivator and support for the group. The group, divided into two crews, operates both in the Federal Bureau of Prisons and at the state level. They operate in a fashion consistent with organized crime. Beginning as a local prison gang, the Aryan Brotherhood have grown into one of the most dangerous gangs in our prisons today, with ties to the Mexican Mafia, and Asian gangs originating in Thailand. These gang ties help fuel their growing narcotics trade. Members are expected to carry out these crimes within the walls and to continue the activities to further the interests of the group upon release. It would also seem that the Aryan Brotherhood has close ties to the non-prison security threat group the Ku Klux Klan due to the doctrinal similarities. The Ku Klux Klan was established by some ex-confederate soldiers in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1866. The groups name came from the Greek word kuklos, meaning â€Å"group or band,† and took the third as a variant of the word clan. The Klan started as a large recreational group and soon turned to intimidating the newly freed African Americans. While riding around at night, the Klan terrorized and sometimes murdered the ones that they were against. The members started to wear a hooded white costume, a disguise that represented the ghosts of the dead Confederates, to avoid being identified and to scare people during their raids. The Klan is the strongest in the South and in the Midwest. Today the KKK has been greatly weakened as their views have become more and more radical. They consider themselves a Christian organization and base their doctrines upon their own reading of the Bible. Their theology is strongly influenced by Christian Reconstructions – they hope to â€Å"reconstruct† the United States along biblical lines and to establish a white-dominated theocracy. While MS-13 is one of our newer gang problems in the United States with MS 13 forming in the Los Angeles area in the mid 1980’s this security threat group is one of the biggest problems we face in our communities and correctional facilities today. They grew out of El Salvadorian immigrants that came together forming MS to protect themselves from other Latin gangs already present in Los Angeles. Later they aligned with the Mexican Mafia, La Eme, adding the 13 to note the allegiance to them. This gang operates out of 42 states, along with the District of Columbia. In the 1990’s, MS-13 came to law enforcements attention as they were targeting violent areas in Hispanic neighborhoods. When law enforcement deported the violent gang members, they took their gang to their home countries such as El Salvador, while spreading their ways into other Central American countries, Mexico, and furthering their following in the United States. Today they are known for their excessive use of violence and are considered to be the worst of the worst security threat group’s known for their adaptability where law enforcement operations are concerned. The hierarchy is based on status, which is based upon how many acts have been committed for the gang. There is no national leaders recognized, instead leadership is based on local leaders. Originally, all members were El Salvadoran nationality; however, they currently accept any Hispanic heritage in their ranks. Among the crimes these gangs have been charged with are murder, robbery, stabbings, drive by shootings, assault, sexual assault, rape, and extortion. They have also, been charged with witness tampering and intimidation crimes. One of the biggest concerns of law enforcement is that this is one of the fastest growing gangs today. Because of organizational factors and growing numbers of members, the Aryan Brotherhood, Ku Klux Klan, and MS13 have emerged as our biggest security group threats in the American corrections system. These groups have different ideologies and methods of operations, but they all have some similarities. These can be the fact that they are all either directly or indirectly affiliated with violence and drug trafficking, or that all believe that their way is the only right way. Law enforcement agencies have their work cut out for them, considering the rate of growth of some security threat group’s is large enough in some areas to cause the FBI to raise their threat assessment levels higher, as in the case of MS13.

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” Literary Analys Essay

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail,† was written in 1963; during the time African Americans were fighting for equality among races. We can tell this by the vocabulary used in his writing such as â€Å"Negro,† which was used at one time, and is no longer considered, â€Å"politically correct. â€Å" The purpose for the letter is that Martin Luther King Jr. was trying to convince the white clergymen that him and his â€Å"People’s† actions were completely unnecessary for the situation. When doing this, he uses critical and persuasive tones to try to influence the reader to agree with him. Martin Luther King Jr. provides a valid argument using logos, pathos, and ethos throughout his letter. The use of comparison in Dr. King’s letter makes the African American’s trouble of segregation seems, just about holy. He compares being arrested for his peaceful but illegal actions to the crucifixion of Jesus for his â€Å"unique God-consciousness and never-ceasing devotion.† Martin Luther King, Jr. ties himself to God by suggesting that above constitutional rights and legal laws are God-given rights, and these rights are the ones that he and his followers are supporting. He says that just laws, are laws that â€Å"Square with moral law or the law of God.† King resumes this religious association in his last paragraph, where he mentions blacks who conduct sit-ins as â€Å"children of God† who stand up for â€Å"the most scare Values in our Judeo-Christian heritage.† These similarities make Dr. King and his men seem to be fighting an almost heavenly cause, one that has the support of God and of history. King also uses his voice through writing to educe emotion. Aside from his associations to God and Socrates, which may help religious readers better connect to his message, Martin Luther King Jr., writes about the emotional suffering that blacks went through due to segregation and prejudice. He replies to whites telling blacks to â€Å"wait† for desegregation by bringing up several murders committed by whites on blacks, including lynching, drowning, and police cruelty. He continues on these emotional out looks by expressing how children begin to become disturbed by segregation when they realize that they are considered lesser to whites. King uses definite examples, such as a daughter who finds out that she can’t visit an amusement park because it is closed to colored children, and a son who asks, â€Å"Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?† He shows how the build-up of these thoughts in black children eventually turn into hatred for whites when he says, â€Å"There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.† All of these statements help the reader see just how blacks were disturbed beyond decency and rightfulness. King’s use of emotional writing helps readers develop sympathy for the segregated. Martin Luther King Jr., is trying to tell the white clergymen what he feels they are doing wrong. He uses so many different emotional pulls at the attempt to grab their attention. He does a great job of doing this through referring to the bible and about children. Through the use of rhetorical strategies, Martin Luther King Jr. countered the clergymen’s argument. He also got their attention due to his unique strategy of directly addressing his readers, the clergymen, to create the base of his argument. From there, King is able to shatter his opponent’s claims. This way of arguing allowed King to present his argument with more authority to achieve his goal: justify the reasons for nonviolent demonstrations against segregation. I feel as if Martin Luther King’s â€Å"Letter From Birmingham Jail† had a great impact on the rights of black people during his time. The fact that is still read today proves it’s a great piece of writing. From my point of view he was in the right with every opinion he expressed; I honestly don’t see how you couldn’t agree with him. His writing is not only changing the world, but is entertainment to read. In the closing of his letter he says â€Å"I hope this letter finds you strong in the faith. I also hope that the circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as integrationist or a civil-rights leader but as a fellow clergymen and a Christian brother.† This is the hope of many people; we are getting closer each day to having his hope become a reality. I believe this letter had a huge impact on many people’s lives, and will continue to change the world.

If You Can Have Dinner with Any People

There has been a time when I have always wondered what it would be like to have dinner with people who inspire me. I have thought long and hard about 3 people who give me motivation to be all I can be. Growing up as a Latin woman in NYC has made me want to be a successful woman. I want to see the world and help others in need. I have chosen to have dinner with Rata Moreno a Latin woman from Human, Puerco Rice. My Grandparent's are from Human, a small town about 45 miss from the capital.Human is full of land , nature, tall mountains and amazing culture. I also would love for Audrey Hepburn to Join us followed by Anita Rowdier. These three women are very influential in many ways and I can relate to them. The dinner I have chosen for us will be full of colorful foods. Salads, pastas, cheese, seafood and wine. Rata Moreno loves to dance and I am sure she will be the life of the party. I come from a big Puerco Rican family like Rata also from Human and we love to dance, cook and enjoy qua lity time.We can turn anything small into a festivity. Moreno has a similar background; she grew up very poor and was forced to move to the slums of NYC only to find herself a bit lost. Rite's mom made a living so that Rata can focus on school and her career. Like most Puerco Rican families from the ass's and ass's they work extremely hard to have a better life. Rata went on got an education and pursue her career. She found herself in Show business acting and playing roles as a minority. She landed her famous role as Anita from West side story.The first and only Latin woman in History and one of the few performers to have won an Emmy, a Grammar, an Oscar, and a Tony, and was the second Puerco Rican to win an Academy Award. Rata is also involved in the Jack Robinson Foundation to give children a better schooling system. Audrey Hepburn is a classic woman of Hollywood who is also an immigrant from Belgium growing up it was not always easy but she came from a middle class family. Audrey grew up most of her life in boarding schools and nannies this was during the world war 2.

Miss: 21st Century and Young People

Fashion is becoming more and more important to young people. However, some argue that this has negative impact on young people and on society. Do you agree or disagree?In the 21st century, It is difficult to ignore the immense popularity of fashion, which could be found anywhere and everywhere, on the street, television, internet and magazines. Its influence have extended to younger consumers. However, some argue that this trend has an adverse effect on youngsters and even the whole society. Personally, I agree with this view to some extent.Having appealing appearance help youngsters to express their individuality and build their confidence. Firstly, fashion is a form of art, which changes constantly and requires creativity. It inspires these young people to express their personality and taste in a unique way. Without fashion, they miss a sound opportunity of expressing themselves. Secondly, by wearing trendy clothing the way they like, youngsters may feel comfortable and pleasure; m eanwhile, they are more likely to become attractive. As a result, their confidence level could be boosted.This trend also benefits the whole society, namely, creating more job opportunities. Youngsters love for fashion, which is an integral part of their lives, produces numerous new job opportunities, related to fashion industry. For instance, a fashion magazine , called Seventeen, is published for young girls who love to keep up with the latest trend. This is helpful to relieve employment pressure, which is extremely severe in the economic recession.Despite of this, it is undeniable that this trend may distract teenagers from study and generates the social problem of fashion bullying. Firstly, if teenagers involves themselves too much with fashion, they may find it difficult to concentrate on study because there is insufficient time for study. This is especially true for those student who are not good at time management. Secondly, youngsters may judge their friends based on their c lothing, jewelry and hair style. Those students who look unfashionable may  be isolated or even bullied. This damages their psychological development.In conclusion, it is advantageous for youngsters to follow fashion; however, the disadvantages should not be ignored. The school and parents should guide young adult to view fashion in a appropriate way.

English Legal System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

English Legal System - Essay Example Thus, consistency within the law is both in practice and theory, to a maximum extent is preserved and can be regarded as one of the fundamental demands of the meaning of justice, which is covered by giving equal treatment of like cases, in like manner1. UK can be said to be the birth place of the legal concept namely judicial precedent or stare decisis or ratio decidendi. Now, judicial precedent is widely followed by the common law jurisdictions around the world. The judicial precedent concept is footed upon the rule that once a court has given its verdict in a given background, the analogous verdict should be arrived at in any future litigation where the facts of the cases are alike. The judicial precedent principle is based upon the concept that if a verdict was given by a superior court, then lower court is under obligation to follow it, whereas there is no obligation on the superior court to follow the decision given by a lower court. It is to be remembered that decision given by Lord Atkin in Donoghue v Stevenson2 in 1932 as regards to â€Å"neighbour principle† which has become the reference case for the cases involving ‘negligence’ in the latter period3. A gullible consumer may under proper scenarios recoup damages for harm sustained by a defective product either it be car as held in Andrews v Hopkinson,4 or it may be an underwear as held in Grant v Australian Knitting Mills.5 Likewise , the verdict given in Salomon v Salomon & Co Ltd6 also became a precedent in subsequent cases where it was held that a company is a juristic person , has separate legal entity and a company is different from its members.7 In these cases, the courts have considered only the legal principle involved and not the particular facts of the earlier cases. Thus, the legal principle, which is known as the ratio decidendi is the crux portion of the judicial decision which is a binding precedent.8 An obiter dictum in judicial verdict deals with observation made by a judge in the course of litigation, which is not essential for the final verdict and hence is not regarded as a binding precedent. For instance, in R v Howe & Bannister9, it was held by the House of Lords that defence of duress could not be extended to murder crime and this has been regarded as the ratio decidendi of the case. Further, it was observed by the House of Lords, whether the defence should be made available to those accused who engaged in an attempt of murder and observed obiter dicta that the defence of duress should not be made available to the attempted murder also10. It is to be noted that obiter dicta is also referred by other names namely persuasive precedent, which refers to the legal principles observed by the judges which just offer some elucidation on the subject. Thus, persuasive precedents may also emanate from lower courts and also from the verdicts of other jurisdiction11. In R v Gotts12 , the House of Lords was of the view that justification under duress cannot be extended for

Licensing and Accreditation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Licensing and Accreditation - Essay Example Thus, long-term health facilities are defined, approved by, and maintained according to state as well as federal standards set for this purpose. Besides the two aforementioned authorities, there are other voluntary organizations which are devoted to accreditation and licensing purposes such as the Joint Commission. The Arizona state as well as Federal government embodies certain rules and regulations with respect to health care provisions. Such provisions include licensing requirements of long-term health care services too. The Arizona state rules are contained in the Arizona State Statutes, which includes all the rules concerning different facilities in the state. The law concerning the 'certification, licensure, and monitoring of long-term care facilities, facilities and services' is contained in title 36-409, whose requirements can be summarized in the following points: The Department of Health Services will perform all the essential functions regarding licensing and certification and take care to conform and implement concerned federally approved standards for this health service facility; The nursing care hospices and institutions will have to maintain financial records which they have to show to the Arizona health care cost containment system administration (Arizona State Legislature). The department further holds the right to issue quality ratings too, which help in determining whether the long-term health care facility provides quality service or not. It does so according to the results obtained out of a licensure survey. Further, the licensure granted to a nursing facility depends much on the quality rating it receives (Arizona State Legislature). However in all cases, the state law prescribes that no nursing institute shall hold a license for more than three years. The initial license application for any long-term healthcare service facility shall further require the applicant to submit the following: The application form of the Department which would include the address and other contact details of the health care institution; Tax ID number; The class or subclass as listed in R9-10-102; Owner Information; The details and particulars of governing authority; The details of the chief administrative officer; and others which vary according to the details of the plot and related documents (Arizona Department of Health Services). The Federal government details the requirements for states and long term care facilities in its PART 483 and subpart B (Title 42-Public Health). It requires healthcare facilities in states to meet certain requirements to be considered as long-term facilities such as Medicaid and Medicare. Some requirements such as the facility having a transfer agreement with certain hospital are essential for a facility to gain recognition as a long-term healthcare facility. besides the requirements are based upon other factors such as resident rights, quality of care, quality of life provided, nursing services, physician services, dietary services, and others (Title 42-Public

Going for Growth by Investing in People, Products and Plant Essay

Going for Growth by Investing in People, Products and Plant - Essay Example In addition, Hazlewood Sandwiches has invested ?25 million to build a factory site named Manton Wood in order to prepare several quantities of sandwiches. This factory site of the company is regarded as the largest sandwich producing plant in the world (Driver &Temple, 1999). Conclusion Investment appraisal is one of the crucial factors that for obtaining internal and external source of funds. Hazlewood Sandwiches has made two significant capital investments in the past years. The primary objectives behind the company’s substantial capital investments was to avail the prevailing opportunities in the UK sandwich market to gain higher rate of return on the capital invested and thereby to attain superior growth and expansion (Driver &Temple, 1999). References Driver, C. & Temple, P., 1999. Investment, Growth and Employment: Perspectives for Policy. Routledge. Gessinger, G. H., 2009. Materials and Innovative Product Development: Using Common Sense. Butterworth-Heinemann. Lumby, S. , 1988. Investment Appraisal and Financing Decisions the VNR Series in Accounting and Finance. Taylor & Francis. Question 2: Discuss the differences, advantages and disadvantages of the three investment decision techniques mentioned in the case. Introduction Hazlewood Sandwiches undertook three primary methods of investment appraisal namely payback method, Net Present Value (NPV) and Accounting Rate of Return (ARR) method in order to apprise and evaluate the value of the investment made by the company (Gotze, & et. al., 2008). Discussion The payback method critically considers the length of time in order to recover capital invested by the company. It is worth mentioning that the payback method takes into concern cash flow activities. The major advantages of this... This paper approves that investment appraisal is one of the crucial factors that for obtaining internal and external source of funds. Hazlewood Sandwiches has made two significant capital investments in the past years. The primary objectives behind the company’s substantial capital investments was to avail the prevailing opportunities in the UK sandwich market to gain higher rate of return on the capital invested and thereby to attain superior growth and expansion. This paper makes a conclusion that the three primary methods of investment appraisal and evaluation have their own distinctive advantages and disadvantages that facilitate the management of Hazlewood to select one of the any aforementioned methods. Notably, payback method can be considered as the simplest method of all the other two methods. This is owing to the reason that payback as well ARR method does not take into consideration the time value of money. On the contrary, NPV method expresses in dollars instead of percentage that often makes it difficult to appraise the investment. The role of workforce from both the functional perspectives of HRM and accounting is pivotal for any organisation. In this current business environment, workforce of any organisation is required to perform multiple tasks in order to conduct their business operations successfully. Thus, it can be stated that skilled and competent workforce in the business is the greatest asset of a specific organisation.