Monday, September 30, 2019

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Essay

Alison Bechdel’s â€Å"Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic† is an exciting autobiography with comics that bring her story to life. Alison Bechdel wrote this book about her childhood, the relationship she had with her father and one of the many things they shared in common, their sexuality. In addition to their common homosexuality, Alison and Bruce Bechdel share o b sessive compulsive tendencies and their artistic ways, even using her artistic language to describe the father daughter relationship they had, â€Å"I was Spartan to my father’s Athenian. Modern to his Victorian. Butch to his nelly. Utilitarian to his aesthete.† This opposition was a source of tension in their relationship, as both tried to express their dissatisfaction with their given gender roles: â€Å"Not only were we inverts, we were inversions of each other. While I was trying to compensate for something unmanly in him, he was attempting to express something feminine through me. It was a war of cross-purposes, and so doomed to perpetual escalation.† At the center of where it all begins at â€Å"Fun Home,† Alison helps us envision her desperate need to make a connection with her father, Bruce Allen Bechdel. Father and daughter are playing a game of â€Å"airplane† that ends almost as soon as it begins because of her fathers obsession with keeping his old Victorian house he personally restored clean and what he seems to always want kept in perfect condition. Bruce â€Å"could spin garbage into gold† and â€Å"cultivate the barren yard into a lush flowering landscape.† â€Å"He treated his furniture like children, and his children like furniture.† Alison makes it clear by telling her story and drawings that he was so emotionally distant, that even before his death, she â€Å"ached as if he were already gone.† Before Bruce’s death, he and his daughter have a conversation in which Bruce confesses some of his sexual history; this is presented as a partial resolution to the conflict between father and daughter. Alison along with the rest of her siblings didn’t have the typical dramatic and sad reaction other people would express if there own father passed. Instead she describes it as â€Å"Dry-eyed and sheepish, my brothers and I looked for as long as we sensed it was appropriate. If only they made smelling salts to induce grief-stricken swoons, rather than snap you out of them.† Although Bruce’s death was assumed to be an accident, it was also a tragedy that started a long time before his life had even began which is why many readers, or even Alison suspect suicide because of the evidence Bechdel reveals to the reader. Four moths prior to his death, she came out to her parents that she was in fact a lesbian, she writes, â€Å"If I had not felt compelled to share my little sexual secret, perhaps the semi would have passed without incident.† This statement shows a hidden connection between father and daughter before the actual relationship beings. Her mother also shared the news while Alison was away at college about her husband’s affairs with men and interest in young boys, for example â€Å"more promising high school students.† – the muscular, male ones, it seems – to visit his home to borrow copies of great American novels like â€Å"The Sun Also Rises† and â€Å"The Great Gatsby.† Last but not least, two weeks before his passing, his wife asked for a divorce. Although these series of events that led up to Bruce’s death may seem very tragic, it allowed Alison to tell not just a story about herself but her fathers struggle to let his secret out as well. One of the most important key points in Alison Bechdel’s memoir is the connection both her and Bruce shared was expressing their sexuality through literature which plays a important role in Alison’s self discovery. She writes â€Å"My realization at 19 that I was a lesbian came about in a manner consistent with my bookish upbringing,† Alison chose to accept the fact and not hide from the issue, taking a female partner and going to â€Å"gay union† meetings, she was open about her sexuality before she’d even been in a homosexual relationship. Her  father, on the other hand, had had countless affairs with men but wasn’t open about it â€Å". This may be due to him being afraid of coming out, as the images show â€Å"the fear in his eyes† when the conversation topic almost ends up being about homosexuality. Alison Bechdel introduces her readers to many copied by hand family photographs, letters, local maps and excerpts from her own childhood journal, incorporating these images into her narrative. Since the reader is directly responsible for interpreting â€Å"action† in a comic, he or she is more directly engaged on a far more personal level. Fun Home is one such example of a graphic novel making use of comics as a means of opening a discourse about the scars family members leave on their children and finding some form of connections and closure through sharing these stories with others. This novel really shows how comics are moving in new directions and demonstrates a willingness to engage readers in new and challenging ways. Each image seems to give a very specific emotion that is carried throughout her story and the pictures contain elements of beauty, longing, memories, and hope. The bittersweet relationship of parent and child is held again and again in â€Å"Fun Home.† The memoir ends with two images that portray the bad times and the good. The top half of the final page shows the truck about to strike; the bottom half shows daughter, in jumping into a pool, waiting to be caught in her father’s arms. The bonding of the two images is compelling and striking. They also offer reader and author a choice appreciate what was had or continue to yearn. In completing â€Å"Fun Home† Alison Bechdel may have finally ended her longing.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Putting An End To Worship Wars Essay

There are many different kinds of worship styles because there are different kinds of people with different kinds of personalities. America is made up of different races and religion therefore we worship God differently. God created mankind in His image and His likeness to worship Him in spirit and truth. We must Worship God according to the principles of Scriptures so that He is magnified, glorified and exalted. It does not matter that we express our worship differently. What does matter is that we worship God with all our hearts and inner being. We as the church, the body of Christ must learn to except the difference in worship, if the worship is legitimate and stop trying to force our way of worship on other members of the body of Christ. America is the only nation that has different worship styles in the churches. The change in worship is because of culture changes such as the Internet, computerized television screens, and the Interstate freeway. American no longer chooses a church by denomination or church doctrine but by worship service and gift gravitation. Research revealed that churches were growing because of renewal, revival, and excitement not from outreach programs. The excitement of worship produced growth. Worship service are different because of cultural difference, different spiritual gifts and because the commands and principles of Scripture are applied differently. Worship wars have split churches, caused Pastors to be replaced, caused members to leave, and caused drops in church growth. The Evangelistic church exists to accomplish evangelism, which is communicating the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible Expositional Church exists to equip believers for the work of the ministry through the systematic expositional preaching and teaching of Scriptures. The Renewal Church exists to worship God the Pastor is often the worship leader. Worship is the focus of the service and exhortation is the spiritual gift. The Body Life Church purpose and mission is the context of fellowship. The focus is on the cell group and corporate gatherings of believers therefore; their strength is small group ministries. The Liturgical Church exist to serve God with praise and worship and to service other in the name of God. Its strength is their involvement in society causing leaders to emerge. The Congregational Church is a church of balance. They have no single spiritual gift and are described as a single cell churches. Their strength is balance in ministry. These six paradigms mean that Christians worship differently because we are different. We have different spiritual gifts, different callings, different personalities, different background and different doctrine. In the future of worship there will be more of a thirst for God, thirst for worship, and worship will be more spontaneous. The Holy Spirit will inspire, and release whole hearted worship in people of all expressions. Worship will become more of a celebration causing the atmospheric presence of God to be felt in worship. The Impact and Implementation of this Book in My Own Life The knowledge that I received from this book has help me to understand the different worship styles. I have a greater respect for them because I understand that they are worshipping God in their own way. It also help me to understand why I worship the way I do. I am what we call a radical worshipper. I love Worshipping God and I love when others people worship God. I can fit anyway as long as I can worship God.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

This assignment will consist of a critical and evaluative intellectual Essay

This assignment will consist of a critical and evaluative intellectual biography of a contemporary leading thinker - Essay Example Norton is a consultant as well as a speaker withregard to strategic performance management and a founder of Palladium group. The profession group mainly deals with performance measurement and management and before founding andbecoming the group’s director he engaged in Renaissance Solutions a consulting company he founded together with Robert Kaplan in 1992. The balanced scorecard aims at helping the development and management of strategy through focusing on the way key measures relate in tracking progress. In the paper Kaplan and Norton believe only adherence to quarterly financial returns and bottom line does not offer an organization the overall strategic view. However, the balanced scorecard goes beyond only the exploitation of financial measures through incorporation of three other essential perspectives. These other perspectives include customer perspective, internal business perspective and the learning or innovation perspective. Customer perspective addresses the way customers consider an organization while internal business perspective requires an organization to establish what is needed for it to excel; moreover, the innovation perspective addresses what is needed in an organization to improve and create value in future. Through evaluation of the present and offering indications of future drivers, the scorecard is capable of m easuring and motivating business performance (Kaplan& Norton, 1992). Kaplan and Norton published Strategy Maps, in this book they show that despite the increased significance of knowledge based assets, many organizations still focused on measuring short term financial performance. The book elaborates strategy as a notion by describing it in terms of its relationship referred to as strategy map. The book shows shifting trend from product-driven economy toward a knowledge economy values intangible assets in organizational performance. However, at the time of writing the book there was no literature offering

Friday, September 27, 2019

Movie analysing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Movie analysing - Essay Example Another important action, as depicted in the movie film is to claim the freedom of the people to ensure the sacredness of the space. This requires aggressive effort in order to establish the point that the church must be free from any other movements, including but not limited to those concerning application of political or economic authority, social injustice and more. The leaders, church members and the people are the ones whose actions could eventually help to make the space sacred once again. In the case of the movie film â€Å"Romero† it was the Archbishop who strengthened the people, give them courage and stood as voice of the multitude in order to restore the sanctity of the church. Church as institution An institution is aimed at achieving a high social order, even though there might be varying behaviors of a set of individuals. Church is an institution because it is supposed to be governed by and moving forward to a higher social order, it administers to everybody who might be good or bad. What it seeks to promote is only for the good of everyone, as it tries to establish a good community. Based on the movie, the church does not run the country in general, but it protects the people. Priests are shepherds, who administer the church, to help establish the church as an institution. Based on the movie, Romero addressed that the church must administer to everybody in order to maintain social order (Romero Full Movie). What is unique about the church as an institution is its foundation which is set on the love of Jesus Christ, in order to successfully promote social order. In the presence of this love for each other, collegiality is eventually developed, which based on the movie bishops were able to successfully show it when they condemned senseless violent killings. Although, some of them have been threatened to lose their lives as there were priests already killed in the chaotic situation in El Salvador. When Romero learned violence will never end up violence, he tried to place himself on the center stage, administering to everybody, and trying to understand both sides and everybody’s perspectives in order to uphold social order. At first, because of his being apolitical and complacent priest, he critiqued this as subversive act. Church as Sacrament A sacrament stands as both sign and instrument. In the case of the Church as a sacrament, it has become one with Christ, an instrument creating unity between God and all mankind. This model includes, Christ, God, and all mankind. Right after being saved by the redeeming blood of Jesus, all mankind, the Church, is in Christ, so that it would stand in unity with the Father in heaven. When there is sin, humanity needs salvation, so Jesus was offered to redeem the sin of the world. When mankind was redeemed, Christ is in the people, the Church, who must suppose to stand as the ones to represent what salvation consists in. This image of the Church was seen in the movie when Rome ro declared in front of the public that Christ must be seen in each and everyone, that the Church is the people and must suppose to stand as one body of Christ (Romero Full Movie). When there is disunity, this body cannot stand. By this, Romero must have implied Church as

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Are early intervention programs like Early Head Start worthwhile Essay

Are early intervention programs like Early Head Start worthwhile - Essay Example The four areas are cognitive development, physical development, social development, and emotional development. Catering to the four areas enhances the poor child’s learning capacity. The early intervention programs like IDEA and Early Head Start are worthwhile endeavors (Currie, 2001). The Early Head Start program is defined as the early intervention learning strategy of our government. The program helps families equip their child for their first entry into the formal school classroom environment. The program caters to families having children within the three years old or younger age group. Likewise, the program includes mothers who are currently pregnant. The program trains the parents ensure the child learning experiences are maximized (Currie, 2001). B. The Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) intervention program is worthwhile (Duncan, 2010). The Early Learning Program cooperates with other education programs that are being implemented by our United States government. The IDEA program focuses on helping the disabled members of North American society improve their learning capabilities. The IDEA program includes a specialized learning program that is fitted for the disabled person. For example, the Braille learning system is used for the blind learning child. Sign language is used as a medium of learning instruction in a classroom of deaf-mute students. Further, the IDEA program is divided into several areas of child learning specialization. One area is reading comprehension. Another area is disabled child learning progress tracking. A third area is child learning accommodations. A fourth area is child learning assessment. A fifth area is child behavior improvement leading to better learning capacity. The IDEA program states the United States government prioritizes learning programs that are tailored to fit each disabled person’s learning situation (Duncan, 2010). C. Use of play materials early

Low frequency of human papillomavirus DNA in breast cancer by Research Paper

Low frequency of human papillomavirus DNA in breast cancer by Mendizabal-Ruiz et al 2009 - Research Paper Example All the samples were taken from patients who have no prior history of breast cancers. This means those who had a family history of breast cancer were intentionally excluded from the group sampling in order to isolate the probable cause of the breast cancer to the presence of the HPV only. Out of the 107 samples taken from the pathology department, 67 of them are diagnosed to have breast cancer present while the remaining 40 samples were non-malignant. The purported rationale for this study was to investigate the possible connection that HPV has to certain types of breast cancers, since HPV is already well known to be a causative agent of most cervical uterine cancers. Since some breast cancers were found to have the HPV variants present in some of these cases, it was worth investigating if there is more to presence of the HPV's DNA in these breast cancer cases to link the two together. The HPV has several variants and types 16, 18 and 33 are quite common among certain populations. Th e authors of this study used the polymerase chain reaction method to try to detect the DNA of these HPVs. The aims of their study were to detect a presence of this DNA in breast cancer tissue samples and establish a possible role or link of this virus in the genesis of breast cancer.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Management and the Cultural Industries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management and the Cultural Industries - Essay Example Thus, culture is a myriad of different aspects of society including formalized and unofficial systems. (Davey) As culture is evolving constantly by the developments around the society, industries such as the media which include print, radio, television, music, entertainment among others represent the culture of a society and also influence it to a certain extent. These industries, that are known as cultural industries produce cultural texts, which are manifestations of the prevailing, culture for example ‘An American Brat’ by Bapsi Sidhwa is a book that represents the culture of Zoroastrians and how it is affected by moving to a Western country and integrating into a different cultural environment. Cultural industries create cultural texts which can be anything from books to music to newspapers and fashion. In America, during the time of flower power, the music and the fashion represented and promoted the culture of that period expressing harmony and bohemianism. However , cultural industries are influenced by other factors beside the prevailing culture itself such as the political scenario and economic conditions, they are driven by profit and often the texts are dependent on revenue and commercialism rather true creative representations of culture. Thus, this report focuses on the extent to which cultural texts are affected by political and economic factors. Culture and the political economy The political economy approach to culture focuses on how the production and distribution systems governing the cultural industries affect culture and cultural texts. The approach focuses on the interaction of political systems, economics, state institutions, social institutions and everyday life. The political and economic factors in a society determine to a great extent which faces of culture are promoted and which are neglected due to the dependence of cultural industries on revenue and profit and the power wielded by the state. (Kellner, 1999) This approach includes the conflict between the communist and capitalist approach. A capitalist economy would be focused on achieving the most with regards to revenue and thus focus on the popularity and profitability of the text whereas the communist economy would be more sensitive to political power and be restricted by it. However, even in a democratic capitalist setting the state would be involved in media matter regarding products such as cigarettes advertising, thus influencing the content of cultural texts. (Kellner, 1999) THE US AND EUROPEAN APPROACH The two main political economy approaches to cultural texts are the US and the European. The US model is the Schiller-McChesney tradition which focuses on the use of power and information media. The European approach focuses on cultural industries and the ‘commodifying of culture’. It addresses the information and entertainment side and focuses on the creation, production and delivery of cultural texts as well the audience respo nses. It inserts the creators of text; authors, musicians, performers and others in the context of the market. (Cultural Approaches to Economy and the Media, 2010) CULTURAL TEXTS AND GOVERNMENT CONTROL The political economy approach identifies how cultural texts are affected by government control. However, in a free market economy cultural texts generated through cultural industri

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Customs & Traditions in the Mexican Culture Essay - 1

Customs & Traditions in the Mexican Culture - Essay Example These include green tomatoes (known as to tomatillos), papaya, mango, avocado, and pear cactus otherwise known as napoles in Mexico (Long &Vargas, 2005). Mexicans include meat in their diet as much as possible. Unlike in other cultures, pork and chicken surpass beef consumption. Mexican foods do not avoid the spicy element. In fact, most people associate Mexican food with spices. It is common to find chilies of various types such as chipotle, Serrano, poblano and the jalapeno in Mexican dishes. They add a characteristic flavor (Hankin, 2014). There is also use of herbs to enhance flavors such as cumin, cinnamon, cloves, thyme and cilantro. Mexican coastal dishes include seafood prepared using spices and herbs. Lately, Mexican foods portray Spanish and Indian influence, but not enough to limit the consumption of indigenous foods such as beans, corn and peppers (Noble, 2012). Flour and corn tortillas are popular and are sold on the streets. Mexican desserts incorporate sweet and hot compounds for good and smooth flavor that have unique impressions in the mouth. Mexicans also prepare fresh juices from fruits besides consuming imported drinks. However, tequila is a popular Mexican native that is popular in the alcoholic drinks category all over the

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Relevance of Standard Costing & Variance Analysis Essay

Relevance of Standard Costing & Variance Analysis - Essay Example The standard cost is a predetermined unit cost i.e. the price and standard amount of each resource to be utilized in manufacturing a product and providing a service. A variance is the difference of actual cost incurred and expected standard cost. The variance analysis involves breakup of total variance to explain how much variance is caused by difference in use of resources from the standard usage quantity and how much variance is caused by the difference in prices of resources from the standard costs (Scarlett, 2008, p.96). The standard costing can be advantageous only if the cost standards are carefully established and prudently used. The use of standards solely for placing blame can have negative impact on management and employees. The major advantages include better management planning, promotes economy by making the employees understand importance of cost reduction, setting selling price, management control, highlights variances in management by exception and simplify the invent ories’ costs reducing clerical costs (Weygandt, Kimmel & Kieso, 2009, p.495). Standard costing system was developed in accordance with the traditional manufacturing environment which has changed drastically in recent competitive environment. The critics of standard costing and variance analysis site the following reasons for its declining relevance: Changing Cost Structure: Provided that the standard costing is suited to the control of variable and direct costs but not fixed and indirect costs, the usefulness of standard costing has been questioned because the in recent times the overhead costs have become the relevant factory costs whereas the importance of direct labour costs has diminished. Inconsistency with JIT (Just-in-Time) Philosophy: JIT is an inventory system which works towards keeping zero inventories and reducing handling, warehousing and financing costs and time associated with tracking stocks and movements (Ajami & Goddard, 2006, p.357). This system has been wi dely adopted by American and European firms in the last decade. Although critics of standard costing and variance analysis assert that if performance of purchasing department is evaluated on the basis of purchase price variance then the purchase managers will be motivated to obtain materials at the lowest possible costs which can result in selection of many suppliers on the basis of lowest price, large quantity purchases resulting in larger inventories, low quality goods and indifference towards attainment of on-time delivery. This contradicts the JIT philosophy. Overemphasis on the importance of Direct Labour: The fact that direct labour has lost its importance in modern manufacturing and is a small proportion of the total factory costs, makes the standard costing irrelevant because most of the overhead costs are allocated to the cost centres on the basis of direct labour hours. To reduce their allocated costs the managers try to reduce the direct labour hours which diverts the att ention from controlling the rising overhead costs. This is not an inadequacy of standard costing rather a faulty application of it to rely on volume variances to control short term costs and performance evaluation. Inconsistent with Continuous Improvement Philosophy: The

Saturday, September 21, 2019

White Males Essay Example for Free

White Males Essay What is white male privilege? It is important that white male privilege is defined because the majority of whites males want to deny that it exists at all. The denial of its existence by white people is racialized. People of color say white people enjoy white privilege while white people deny, as often as possible, that they have it and that such a power structure exists. Before defining White male privilege we must first understand the idea of privilege in an anti-oppression setting. Privilege is defined my the webster dictionary as a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor. It is a status that is conferred by society to certain groups. â€Å"It’s about advantages you have that you think are normal. † When this idea is applied to a certain group of people rather than others you begin to see a social polarization, one group that benefits from the privilege and another group that is setback by it. To understand white male privilege one must first understand each factor of privilege, how they work together, and how they effect society. White male privilege is made up of two different privileges, white privilege which is defined by race and male privilege which is defined by gender. White privilege is defined (Clark, 2005), as (1a) a right, advantage, or immunity granted to or enjoyed by white persons beyond the common advantage of all others; an exemption in many particular cases from certain burdens or liabilities. (b) A special advantage or benefit of Stephens 2 white persons; with reference to divine dispensations, natural advantages, gifts of fortune, genetic endowments, social relations, etc. (2a) A privileged position; the possession of an advantage white persons enjoy over non-white persons. (3a) The special right or immunity attaching to white persons as a social relation; prerogative. (b) Display of white privilege, a social expression of a white person or persons demanding to be treated as a member or members of the socially privileged class. (4a) To authorize or license of white person or persons what is forbidden or wrong for non-whites; to justify, excuse. (b) To give white persons special freedom or immunity from some liability or burden to which non-white persons are subject; to exempt. Peggy McIntosh describes white privilege as â€Å"an invisible weightless knapsack of special previsions† in the sense that white privilege provides the beneficiary with advantages that they don’t realize others lack. These advantages can range from being late and not have that count against your race to not worrying if your skin tone makes you the target of police brutality. Many whites against the idea of white privilege believe that the notion of racial preference originated with affirmative action programs and that is should be dismantled to address the issue of privilege. Others against white privilege simply believe it is a myth to essentially make them feel bad for there â€Å"ancestor mistakes†. Most people do not fully understand the privileges that they benefit from so they can not ever truly except this reality. Most men feel this way when they are presented with the idea of male privilege for the first time. Male privilege is a set of privileges that are given to men due to their institutional power in relation to women. While every man experiences privilege differently due to his Stephens 3 own individual position in the social hierarchy, every man, who is seen as male by society, benefits from male privilege. Male privilege branches out over all men no matter what there race, class, or sexuality is. In our patriarchal society male privilege is a bit more inherent. Female workers are, on average, are paid more than 20 percent less than their male components doing the exact same thing. Male privilege can be found in most things in our lives from tv and entertainment all the way to mannerism and how we hold ourselves in our day to day lives. Now that both white and male privilege have been defined we can go into detail about how the both are intertwined White male privilege is an institutionalized power structure in which white males are at the apex of the social pyramid. White males have a very disproportional amount of power compared to women and people of color. Some people would describe being a white male as â€Å"the lowest difficulty setting in a game call the real world†. Both white and male privilege are the most prevalent advantages throughout time. Those who are opposed to this say that white male privilege is a thing of the past and is no longer relevant because we live in a post racial society where citizens may create their own destinies. With Barack Obama as president they believe any structure that existed before hand is nullified by the presence of an African american president. To some white male privilege provides a group with advantages they don’t realize they have. Unchecked it can be used deny it’s very existence with ignorance. The them the best way to combat this issue is to face it head. It’s hard to acknowledge some you don’t you have or why you have it. If people were more aware of their privileges they could find ways to end them or Stephens 4 even making them a common thing provided for others no matter what your race, gender, or sexual preference was. To others white male privilege is nothing but an illusion. They believe that in a post racial society privilege is what you make of it and we all are equal. Some would even go as far to say that white privilege is nothing but a crutch people of color use to take advantage of the white people. Now that I’ve defined Privilege whether it be male privilege or white, showed examples of it in our day to day life , and described it implications on society how will you perceive it? Will you go out teach others about this invisible advantage or will you see it as anything else that’s invisible.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Germany An International Business Plan Economics Essay

Germany An International Business Plan Economics Essay Abstract This paper will examine the country of Germany from the aspect of a corporation looking to do business there. It will consider aspects from the culture, people, technology, government, and their economic system. A business environment analysis report has been conducted to examine things corporations must consider when doing business in Germany. A report on opportunities for market entry has been conducted to identify potential import and export prospects for a potential firm in Germany. A market entry strategy assignment has also been conducted to develop a market strategy for launching new products in Germany. Germany: An International Business Plan MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT Profile The official name of Germany is the Federal Republic of Germany. The head of state is currently Christian Wulff and the head of government is Chancellor Angela Merkel. The population of Germany is 81.8 million people, with about 8% of the people being of foreign origin. Protestants and Catholics each make up third of the religious population, with an assortment of other religions filling the other third. German is the official language spoken in Germany; however, the vast majority of the population also speaks English. Geography Germany is a very temperate country located in Europe. It is much cooler and rainier than most of the United States. It is approximately 137,000 square miles, about the size of Montana. The largest city is Berlin with a population of about 3.5 million people. The next three largest cities, Munich, Cologne, and Hamburg all have populations over a million. As far as the terrain is concerned there are low plains in the north; high plains, hills, and basins in the center and east; mountainous alpine region in the south. People Most inhabitants of Germany are ethnic German. However, there are also more than 7 million foreign residents, a lot of those who are related to guest workers. Guest workers were foreign workers, mostly from Turkey, invited to Germany in the 1950s and 1960s to fill labor shortages) who remained in Germany. Germany has a sizable ethnic Turkish population (2.4% at the beginning of 2010). Germany is also a prime destination for political and economic refugees from many developing countries. An ethnic Danish minority lives in the north and a small Slavic minority known as the Sorbs lives in eastern Germany (Germany, 2012). Most foreigners do not have German citizenship, even if they were born and raised in Germany. This is due to highly restrictive German citizenship laws. However, change is coming, and with the citizenship and immigration law reforms that took place in 2002, many foreign citizens have been getting their citizenships and have gained the ability to naturalize. Germany has one of the worlds highest levels of education, technological development, and economic productivity. Since the end of World War II, the number of youths entering universities has more than tripled, and the trade and technical schools of the Federal Republic of Germany (F.R.G.) are among the worlds best (Germany, 2012). Germany, as country, is mainly middle class. The social welfare system that is set up in Germany provides universal medical care, generous unemployment compensation, and provides for many other social needs. Germans also travel extensively, and millions of Germans travel abroad every year. It is estimated that the population of Germany will decline from the current 81 million people to around 77 million people by 2050. Due to this demographic change, the available workforce aged 20-64 will shrink by more than six million by 2030, resulting in a marked shortage of skilled workers. In the absence of appropriate and timely policy action, demographic change threatens to become a constraining factor for prosperity and growth (Germany, 2012). When unification happened in 1990 Germany began a major undertaking. Their goal was to bring the standard of living of people living in the former German Democratic Republic to where it was in western Germany. This has really been a struggle for Germany because of how inefficient business had been in the former German Democratic Republic. There was also the issue of property ownership that had to be settled. On top of all of that, there was a tremendous amount of environmental damage from communist rule as well. Economic uncertainty in eastern Germany is often cited as one factor contributing to extremist violence, primarily from the political right. Confusion about the causes of the current hardships and a need to place blame has found expression in harassment and violence by some Germans directed toward foreigners, particularly non-Europeans. The vast majority of Germans condemn such violence (Germany, 2012). Economy Market Overview The state department has done a thorough overview of Germanys market and concluded the following: The German economy is the worlds fourth largest and, after the expansion of the EU, accounts for more than one-fifth of European Union GDP. Germany is the United States largest European trading partner and is the sixth largest market for U.S. exports. Germanys social market economy largely follows free-market principles, but with a considerable degree of government regulation and generous social welfare programs. The German economythe fifth largest in the world in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms and Europes largestis a leading exporter of machinery, vehicles, chemicals, and household equipment and benefits from a highly skilled labor force. Like its Western European neighbors, Germany faces significant demographic challenges to sustained long-term growth. Low fertility rates and declining net immigration are increasing pressure on the countrys social welfare system and have compelled the government to undertake structural reforms. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economywhere unemployment can exceed 20% in some municipalitiescontinues to be a costly and long-term process, with total transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $3 trillion so far. In 2011, gross domestic product grew by 2.7%. The countrys export-dependent economy is growing more quickly than the euro-zone average. In 2010, gross domestic product grew by 3.6%, and the German economy experienced its strongest rate of growth since reunification. Domestic demand is becoming a more prominent driver of growth. The German labor market also showed a strong performance in 2010 and 2011, with the unemployment rate dropping to 5.5% in October 2011. Economists attribute the decrease in unemployment to structural reforms implemented under the government of former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and to the use of government-sponsored short-time (Kurzarbeit) work programs. The German economy so far has been largely unaffected by the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone, but a recession or slowdown of Europes largest economy is expected for the winter half of the 2011-2012 year, mostly due to declining exports to the countrys European partners. The European Union (EU) gave Germany until 2013 to get its consolidated budget deficit below 3% of GDP, and the governments 4-year fiscal consolidation program worth approximately à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬80 billion (U.S. $109.6 billion) is intended to meet deficit targets. Germanys deficit decreased from 3.3% of GDP in 2010 to 2.0% of GDP (est.) in 2011 thanks to the strong economy and low unemployment. In May 2011, Chancellor Merkel announced Germanys plan to phase out nuclear energy power by 2022. It is expected that this policy will further accelerate the growth of the renewable energies sector. Germany is the largest consumer market in the European Union with a population of over 82 million. However, the significance of the German marketplace goes well beyond its borders. An enormous volume of worldwide trade is conducted in Germany at some of the worlds largest trade events, such as MEDICA, Hannover Fair, Automechanika, and the ITB Tourism Show. The volume of trade, number of consumers, and Germanys geographic location at the heart of a 27-member European Union make it a cornerstone around which many U.S. firms seek to build their European and worldwide expansion strategies. Market Challenges The German economy has improved markedly in recent years. The economy took a serious hit during the economic crisis, but recovered quickly. The German economy has been steadily improving recently. There was a serious setback during the economic crisis, but recovery occurred quickly. Like most other OECD countries GDP declined significantly in 2009 (by 4.7%), but grew by 3.6% in 2010, the highest rate since unification. Following a 3% growth in 2011, the pace of expansion is expected to slow in 2012 (Germany, 2012). Most of the market research organizations had been predicting the GDP of Germany in 2012 to be around 1%, but are lowering that to around 0.6%. Labor The United States State Department (2012) had this to say in regards to Germanys labor market: The labor market remained resilient during the economic crisis and continued to be strong in 2011. In addition to a series of labor and social reforms implemented in recent years, many experts credit the government-funded short-time work program for limiting unemployment. Other factors, such as moderate wage increases, flexibility in bargaining agreements, numerous company-level alliances to retain jobs, and employers willingness to accept higher unit labor costs, also contributed to the stability of the German labor market. Job cuts in logistics and manufacturing have been offset by job creation in other sectors, such as services and health care. Also due to a declining workforce, average unemployment dropped to 2.976 million over the course of last year, with an average jobless rate of 7.1% down from 7.7% in 2010. For 2012, the government expects unemployment to decline to an average of 6.8%. Although unemployment is still higher in the east of the country than the west (11.3% versus 6.0%), it dropped to the lowest level in 20 years. The number of persons in employment living in Germany reached an all-time high (about 41.6 million) in November 2011, an increase of 521,000 from a year ago. The wages in Germany, when compared to the rest of the world, are among the highest in the European Union and worldwide. German labor is also known to be very productive and highly skilled. German quality is known throughout the world. Labor Law The unions in Germany are incredibly large and powerful. Strong labor laws protect the workers and give them many rights. The laws in Germany are much more substantial than in the United States. Ordinary dismissal of workers must be preceded by notice, which depends on the duration of the time the employee was with the company. It may vary from 1-7 months. The employee may also challenge the dismissal in court. The Mother Protection Law grants a mother a total of 36 months leave. 6 weeks prior to birth and 8 weeks thereafter are on paid leave. The mother and the employer can agree on a parental leave (max. 36 months), after which the employer provides her with the same job prior to the birth of the child. Social Security and Health Care cost are equally split up between the employee and the employer. Average working hours are 37.5 hours/week and annual leave varies between 20 and 30 working days (Export.gov Home, 2012). Trade Barriers There really are not a lot of formal barriers concerning trade with the United States or investment. The only one that could be considered substantial would be Germanys participation in the EUs Common Agricultural Policy and their continued restrictions on biotech agricultural products. This does place some barriers on U.S. goods. Germany has continually tried to get the EU commission to ease up on the regulations to help and try to promote innovation and help the EU members become more competitive. The government under Merkel has made the case for widespread reform in Germany. Specifically, there is a drive to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and reduce the costs due to the complex nature of their bureaucracy. The complexity, in and of itself, offers a certain degree of protection to the local businesses because the complexity of the regulations makes it that much more difficult for foreign competitors to do business in Germany. There are very stringent safety standard and environmental standards that are zealously applied that cuts back on the access available to U.S. products. As a result, any American companies considering exporting to Germany really need to evaluate the standards that would be applicable to their products and insure that they met them on a timely basis. Foreign Relations Germany continues to be close with the United States of America. They maintain their membership in NATO, and they continue to be a vital component of the EU. Germany made sure that after the war that they were actively involved in closer cooperation politically, economically, and defensively with other countries of Western Europe. Germany has been, and will continue to be, one of the largest contributors to the EU budget. After the war, Germany made great effort to repair its relationship with the countries of Eastern Europe. They started by establishing trade agreements and worked their way up to actual diplomatic relationships. When Germany unified in 1990, their relationship with other democratic countries in Europe blossomed even further. Government The government is parliamentary, and a democratic constitution emphasizes the protection of individual liberty and division of powers in a federal structure. The chancellor (prime minister) heads the executive branch of the federal government. The duties of the president (chief of state) are largely ceremonial; the chancellor exercises executive power. The Bundestag (lower, principal chamber of the parliament) elects the chancellor. The president normally is elected every 5 years by the Federal Assembly, a body convoked only for this purpose, comprising the entire Bundestag and an equal number of state delegates (Germany, 2012). The Bundestag, which serves a 4-year term, consists of at least twice the number of electoral districts in the country (299). When parties directly elected seats exceed their proportional representation, they may receive additional seats. The number of seats in the Bundestag was reduced to 598 for the 2002 elections. The Bundesrat (upper chamber or Federal Council) consists of 69 members who are delegates of the 16 Laender (states). The legislature has powers of exclusive jurisdiction and concurrent jurisdiction with the Laender in areas specified in the Basic Law. The Bundestag has primary legislative authority. The Bundesrat must concur on legislation concerning revenue shared by federal and state governments and those imposing responsibilities on the states. Germany has an independent federal judiciary consisting of a constitutional court, a high court of justice, and courts with jurisdiction in administrative, financial, labor, and social matters. The highest court is the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court), which ensures a uniform interpretation of constitutional provisions and protects the fundamental rights of the individual citizen as defined in the Basic Law (Germany, 2012). Technological Status Information technology, without a doubt, is the single most important factor in transforming the world into a global economy. As the rankings are starting to point out, how a company ranks as far as its advancement with information technology is also how it ranks in the overall global economy. Technology is what differentiates a superior economy from that of an inferior one. Technological innovation always lies at the core of any long-term potential of any economy, and Germany is no different. When looking at Europe as a whole, technological capability runs the gamut. In Great Britain and Ireland, they are much higher on capability than the rest of Europe. On the bottom end there is Greece, Italy, and Spain. Germany, and the rest of Europe, is somewhere in the middle. There is a lot of advancement in IT in fields that would necessitate that, such as aerospace, mobile phones, and pharmaceuticals. However, it is very poor in the service sectors. The general consensus is that Europes information technology infrastructure not only lags behind the U.S. and Japan, but that the technology gap is rapidly closing between Europe and Asias new tech powerhouses (like China, India and South Korea). Europe risks being squeezed between the high end challenge posed by the U.S. and Japan and the catch-up challenge posed by the rapidly developing countries (Hamilton Quinlan, 2008). Where Germany is a little stronger in the technological exports is within the realm of medium-high tech exports. According to Hamilton and Quinlan (2008): When it comes to high-tech exports, Germanys share (20.5%) lags behind the EU15 average (25.7%), and is well under the share of the U.S. (36.1%) and China (36%). Against this backdrop, as Germany edges closer to being a knowledge-based service economy, it must keep and embellish its competitive strengths in high-tech goods and services, or suffer a loss in average economic welfare. In a world economy where the application of technology and innovation increasingly dictates both the pace of change and the level of economic prosperity, Germany is challenged to raise its innovation-intensity production and capabilities, while continuing to attract the investment capital and IT core competencies of foreign technology leaders. However, this is not to say that Germany does not have its strengths. In fact, Germany was the third ranked company in 2006 for global patents. The regions in Germany account for nine of the 20 innovation regions in Europe. Germany is more advanced in IT usage and applications than most of Europe and is a favored destination for IT leaders looking to tap indigenous RD talent (Hamilton Quinlan, 2008). Germany is also way ahead of the rest of the EU in terms of their citizens using the internet and using computers at home and at work. Underpinning this dynamic, Germany is ahead of the EU in general in the use of the internet and computers at home and at work. Germany has also become the world leader in alternative energy technology, and has produced a third of all solar cells and half of all wind turbines worldwide. BUSINESS EVIRONMENT ANALYSIS REPORT Center of European Economy Largest Market in Europe. Of all the markets within Europe Germany is by far the largest. It makes up 20 percent of Europes gross domestic product. It also contains close to 20 percent of the total population of the European Union. The GDP has grown about 1.8% every year for the last five years. The economy of Germany is very industrialized, with a very heavy focus being on service and production. They are also very forward thinking in Germany, evidenced by the large amounts of money earmarked for research and development. Belief in Exportation Even though there has been a tremendous amount of shakiness in the world economy, Germany has somehow managed to stay stable. They continue to export worldwide on a grand basis. In fact, in 2003, Germany became the worlds leading exporter, having overtaken the United States for that title. Germanys biggest trading partners include France, UK, the Netherlands, Japan, China, and the United States. Foreign Direct Investment Preparing for FDI Free and Open Markets. An attractive part of the German business environment is how welcoming Germany is towards foreign direct investment. Foreign direct investment, in its classic definition, is defined as a company from one country making a physical investment into building a factory in another country. The direct investment in buildings, machinery and equipment is in contrast with making a portfolio investment, which is considered an indirect investment (Graham Spaulding, 2004). The interesting thing is that Germany treats German investment into business the same way as they treat foreign investment into business. There is no distinction made. There are also no restrictions or barriers to capital transactions or currency transfers, real estate purchases, repatriation of profits, or access to foreign exchanges (Germanys business environment:, 2009). Attracting FDI Globally. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Germany ranks among the worlds leading countries for foreign direct investments with more than EUR 476 billion in FDI stocks in 2008. Official German statistics further underscore Germanys attractiveness as a business location. Bundesbank (German Central Bank) FDI stock statistics indicate a growth of 2.2 percent in 2007 to EUR 459billion (Germanys business environment, 2009). New Investment Projects Foreign Direct Investment Projects. There are over 45,000 foreign companies that operate within the borders of Germany, and these companies employ over 3 million people. Every year more companies realize that operating from Germany is a financially sound decision. Diverse Industry Opportunities. When looking at the different markets that foreign companies are invested in, one will note that it is quite diversified, including 39 different industry sectors. Most of the new investment from foreign companies is invested in to the IT and software industry. In fact, this industry accounts for 20% of every foreign direct investment project in Germany. Business and financial services, and automotive and industrial machinery and equipment are the next top industries. Research and Development High-Tech Germany High Turnover with Innovative Products. Over 27 percent of German manufacturing company turnover is generated from innovative products. These products are new to the enterprise and to the market. In France and the UK, this ratio is comparatively low at around 16 percent, whereas in Finland the level is at 21 percent. The European average lies at 19 percent (Germanys business environment, 2009). Technological Leader. Germany has always been known for their high quality and innovation, and they are one of the worlds leaders in developing new technology. They are also one of the largest exporters of high-technology goods as well. In 2007, Germany exported high-tech goods to the value of EUR 114 billion -making it the top exporter in Europe and third worldwide (Germanys business environment, 2009). Knowledge Base of Workers. Germany is also known for the knowledge of their population, namely scientists. Germany has the largest population of scientists in all of Europe. German scientists work on projects all over the globe. Business Climate Cost Effectiveness High Productivity. In the last decade, Germany has become incredibly efficient in their industries. Their overall productivity rose much faster than the labor cost increase. Because of this, it costs them much less to produce things than many other countries. This gives them a competitive advantage. As a result, much of the world views Germany as having the best process technologies in action. Labor Costs. Another reason Germany is favored by many companies considering foreign direct investment is the stable and low labor costs. Germany has the lowest labor rate growth in the last decade in all of Europe, at two percent. This has not been the case for the rest of Europe. Since 2000 wages have risen in most European countries -at a rate significantly above that of the EU-27 average increase of 3.7 percent (Germanys business environment, 2009). Competitive Tax System. The tax system in Germany is one of the most competitive in the world. Corporations only have to pay a 30% tax rate. Trade taxes have also been drastically reduced. Labor Market Highly Skilled and Educated Workforce. The workforce in Germany contains over 40 million people, the largest amount of labor in Europe. However, the sheer volume of Germanys labor force is not the main attraction. Germanys work force is highly skilled and educated. Eighty percent of Germanys workforce has had vocational training or is a college graduate. German government ties the amount of investment into education to Germanys gross domestic product, ensuring that the two stay linked. Germany also has one of the highest rates of workers receiving doctoral degrees. Germany also employs what is known as a dual education system. In this system, workers receive on-the-job training while they are attending school, for a period of two to three years. This system has over 300 occupations that are accepted in this program, and because it is regulated, a certain level of quality is guaranteed. Closer to Market Logistics. With state-of-the-art transportation networks by road, rail, sea, and inland waterways as well as a dense network of both national and international airports, Germany provides easy access to domestic and international markets (Germanys business environment, 2009). As a result, Germany is a major player in the logistics game globally. Their logistics account for 28% of the European logistics market, making them a huge player in Europe. In fact, more goods pass through the country of Germany, than any other country in Europe. Germany has the second busiest port in Europe, located in Hamburg. They also have Europes largest port container terminal in Bremerhaven. If that was not enough to cement Germanys stature as a global logistics force, there are also the companies in Germany themselves. In fact, the worlds largest logistics services provider is a German company Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN). Deutsche Bahn is the worlds second largest transportation and logistics company and Lufthansa Cargo is the global air freight services leader (Germanys business environment, 2009). Excellent Business Environment Good Legal System. Germany has an incredibly stable and transparent legal environment, and has been globally ranked as one of the safest places to conduct business. Germans was also ranked as the safest country in the world concerning the security of intellectual property. Secure Place to Conduct Business. Germany has a growing business landscape and is becoming well known for the safety in which that business is conducted. White-collar crime is lower in Germany than most of its neighbors. Laws are upheld, and private property laws are strong. Easy Start Up. Corporations and enterprises looking to set up shop will find that the process to do so could not be easier. The rules and regulations for starting up an operation in Germany are simple and thus, very efficient and quick. REPORT ON OPPORTUNITIES FOR MARKET ENTRY An organization should not only determine whether the business environment of Germany is conducive to their operations but also whether their product is within the growing industries of Germany. There are many industries blooming in Germany, but two stand far above the rest: management consulting services and medical equipment. Management Consulting Services Germany is the largest consulting market in Europe. Consulting took off in Germany during 2011 and overall revenues were up around 10 percent. This growth trend is supposed to continue through 2012 as well. Demand was especially strong in the automotive (up 19 percent) and consumer goods (up 14.3 percent) industries. The two largest consulting fields are strategic and organizational/process consulting (Germanys business environment, 2009). Projects that have to deal with growth and innovation, or business development, have great growth potential. Medical Equipment Germany also has the largest European market for medical devices, and is third in the world. Demand will mainly be driven by demographics and a substantial increase in the number of patients and by the need for more efficient procedures. The German medical market expects a sales growth of approximately 6% this year, with continued upwards trends predicted for next year as well (Germanys business environment, 2009). This industry sector has the most potential for corporations that can bring innovative products to the table at competitive prices. The medical technology sector continues to be strong on innovation and growth and will provide excellent potential for U.S. suppliers of innovative and price-competitive products. MARKET ENTRY STRATEGY ASSIGNMENT When considering how to undertake a successful market entry into Germany, there are two things to consider: high quality and modern styling. Germans are responsive to the innovation and high technology evident in U.S. products, such as computers, computer software, electronic components, health care and medical devices, synthetic materials, and automotive technology (Germanys business environment, 2009). Price is not that high of a priority for German buyers, the emphasis remains on quality. Germany also has a very high rate of Internet access, and as more and more Germans gain access, products and services relating to that will grow as well. In speaking about the German market, the United States State Department (2012) had this to say: The German market is decentralized and diverse, with interests and tastes differing dramatically from one German state to another. Successful market strategies take into account regional differences as part of a strong national market presence. Experienced representation is a major asset to any market strategy, given that the primary competitors for most American products are domestic firms with established presences. U.S. firms can overcome such stiff competition by offering high-quality products, services at competitive prices, and locally based after-sales support. For investors, Germanys relatively high marginal tax rates and complicated tax laws may constitute an obstacle, although deductions, allowances and write-offs help to move effective tax rates to internationally competitive levels. Direct Marketing Germans do quite a bit of shopping from catalogs and they are starting to do more shopping online. Three-fourths of German companies use direct marketing in some fashion. Email marketing is by far the most common form of direct marketing and a company looking to gain market entry would be wise to consider the virtues of this method. Selling Strategies The key to selling in Germany is realizing that there has to be some form of long-term commitment. There is a feeling in Germany that U.S. corporations give preferential treatment to their domestic sales, at the expense of their global market. There is also the concern of corporations from the United States being in it for the long-haul and sticking around for after-sales support. Addressing these concerns will alleviate worry and establish credibility. The German customer also expects superior customer service. They expect to be able to call and talk with someone from the organization for help and would require this immediately. American exporters should avoid appointing distributors with impossibly large

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Language Follows Evolution of Jackson and Trewe Relationship Parallelin

Language Follows Evolution of Jackson and Trewe Relationship Paralleling the Colonization to Post-Colonial Movement in Pantomime The play opens on the edge of a cliff; anything can happen. Derek Walcott, a playwright from the Caribbean, lives his own life on the edge of a cliff. Walcott’s family placed strong emphasis on education and ancestry. His inherent duality, European and African, mirrors that of post-colonialism (Gilbert 131). It is this duality that Walcott tries to reconcile in his work, drawing on his experiences in the theatre and in the Caribbean (King 260). In Pantomime, Walcott employs the versatility of language to describe the evolving relationship between main characters Harry Trewe and Jackson Philip paralleling the colonization to post-colonial movement and comes to a tentative reconciliation. Walcott sets the stage for numerous parallelisms by naming his play Pantomime. A pantomime is a traditional British Christmas entertainment that features stock characters in costume who sing, dance and perform skits. The tradition dates back to the 16th century, stemming from Commedia dell’ Arte, which included farce-like elements and masquerade. Ironically, the general premise of a pantomime, the characters speak the same language but do not seem to understand each other, echoes that of Walcott’s Pantomime. Trewe’s pantomime is based on wordless storytelling versus Jackson’s background as a Calypsonian, which deals with improvisation of words based on a given topic. Also, Elaine Savory suggests that Walcott may have chosen this form because the two men feel most comfortable exploring life from behind a mask, like those one might find in a pantomime (227). Already, their background hinders their communication and ... ...he Caribbean. NY: State U of NY Press, 2000. Juneja, Renu. â€Å"Derek Walcott.† Post-Colonial English Drama: Commonwealth Drama Since 1960. Bruce King, ed. NY: St. Martin’s Press Inc., 1992. King, Bruce. Derek Walcott: A Caribbean Life. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Savory, Elaine. â€Å"Art and Macho Attitudes: The Case of Walcott.† Postcolonial Literatures: Achebe, Ngugi, Desai, Walcott. Michael Parker and Roger Starkey, eds. London: Macmillan Press LTD, 1995. Savory, Elaine. â€Å"Registering Connection: Masking and Gender Issues in Caribbean Theatre.† (Post)Colonial Stages: Critical & Creative Views on Drama, Theatre & Performance. Helen Gilbert, ed. UK: Dangaroo Press, 1999. Thieme, John. Derek Walcott, Contemporary World Writers. Manchester: Manchester UP, 1999. Walcott, Derek. â€Å"Pantomime.† Postcolonial Plays: An Anthology. Helen Gilbert, ed. NY: Routledge, 2001.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Arab Baath Movement and The Rise of the Baath Party in Syria Essay

Contrary to popular beliefs, civil activism and civil society has managed to thrive in the Middle East. Social movements on a variety of topics have occurred despite the lack of democracy and democratic institutions in certain countries. One popular movement was the Arab Ba’ath Movement which eventually led to the formation of the Baath Party. By analyzing the movement’s history, ideological stance, goals, the actors, dissenters, and international aspect, one can determine how and why the movement flourished in Syria. Syria was granted de jure independence from the French in 1941. However, the country was not truly independent until 1946. For the next twenty-five years, the country would be launched into extreme political instability and party factionalism. In the beginning, the parties were moderate and pushed for economic and social reforms to match. But, as the 1940s came to an end, these liberal parties lost their legitimacy. The rural workers and urban poor were growing unhappy with the current state of affairs and started advocating for more radical changes in the political and economic realm. During this time period, Baathism, which eventually evolved into the Arab Baath Party in 1947, became very prominent in the Arab world. Started by Michael Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar, the movement was created in Damascus due to the intense nationalism that was sweeping the country in response to the British and French control of the area. The movement gained legitimacy by using sources that Arabians could identify with: history, religion, nationalism, development, freedom, and socialism (Gerner and Schrodt 112). However, Baathism didn’t appeal to everyone in Syria. The urban Sunni middle class especially wasn’t attracted to Baa... ...ersity of New York Press, 1991. Web. Galvani, John. "Syria and the Baath Party." Middle East Research and Information Project 25.Feburary (1974): 3-16. JSTOR. Web. 2 Apr 2012. Gerner, Deborah J., and Philip A. Schrodt. "Middle Eastern Politics." Understanding the Contemporary Middle East. 3rd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008. 85 -136. Print. Hinnebusch, Raymond. "Syria." The Middle East. Ed. Ellen Lust. 12th ed. Washington (D.C.): CQ, 2011. 675-701. Print. Kamrava, Mehran. "The Arab-Israeli Wars." The Modern Middle East: A Political History since the First World War. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 2010. 109-39. Print. Mufti, Malik. "The United States and Nasserist Pan-Arabism." The Middle East and the United States: A Historical and Political Reassessment. Ed. David W. Lesch. 3rd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2003. 168-87. Print.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Jane Eyre and Education in Nineteenth-century England Essay -- Jane Ey

Jane Eyre and Education in Nineteenth-century England Jane Eyre provides an accurate view of education in nineteenth-century England, as seen by an 1840s educator. The course of Jane's life in regard to her own education and her work in education are largely autobiographical, mirroring Charlotte Bronte's own life. Jane's time at Lowood corresponds to Charlotte's education at a school for daughters of the clergy, which she and her sisters Maria, Elizabeth and Emily left for in 1824. Jane went on to attend Miss Wooler's school at Roehead from 1831 to 1832, and returned to teach there for three years in 1935, just as Jane became a teacher at Lowood. Both Charlotte and Jane became governesses. The Lowood School is an accurate representation of a Charity School in the 1820s . The bad health conditions follow the conditions of the school the Brontes went to. The monitorial system of teaching it operates on coincides with the systems created by Joseph Lancaster and Andrew Bell. Lowood's system of a master teacher, under teachers, and monitors is consistent with Bell's complicated system. In addition, the brand of discipline implemented by Mr. Brocklehurst is much like that of Lancaster. Jane's horror at the harsh punishments at Lowood are meant to prompt similar reactions in the reader. Jane at first thinks she could not bear such punishment and is mortified when she must stand on a stool and is accused of being a liar. The disciplining of Jane was completely unfounded, the result of an accident. Most of the punishments at Lowood seem to be for minor and unavoidable infractions such as having dirty nails when the wash water was frozen. Jane sees these punishments as generally just being mean, and thinks that such mean people do ... ...ould receive work appropriate for his own age and ability. The passages which do show Jane at the school usually include praises of how well her students are doing and how the children of England are so much better than the children of the rest of the Europe. This belief also suggests that their education system is the best, including the newest form of schooling, the class school. While at first Lowood was an awful experience, Jane ended up getting a very good education, and went on to offer even better education to other children. Jane Eyre illustrates the evils one could face in the charity schools of the early nineteenth century and the development of that education system into a much better, more efficient system. Works Cited: Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. London, Penguin Books Ltd.: 1996. (Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Michael Mason).

Production and Operation Management Essay

The Bronson Insurance Group was originally founded in 1900 in Auxvasse, Missouri, by James Bronson. The Bronson Group owns a variety of companies that underwrite personal and commercial insurance policies. Annual sales of the Bronson Group are $100 million. In recent years, the company has suffered operating losses. In 1990, the company was heavily invested in computer hardware and software. One of the problems the Bronson Group faced (as well as many insurance companies) was a conflict between established manual procedures and the relatively recent (within the past 20 years) introduction of computer equipment. This conflict was illustrated by the fact that much information was captured on computer but paper files were still kept for practical and legal reasons. FILE CLERKS The file department employed 20 file clerks who pulled files from stacks, refilled used files, and delivered files to various departments including commercial lines, personal lines, and claims. Once a file clerk received the file. Clerks delivered files to underwriters on an hourly basis throughout the day. The average file clerk was paid $8,300 per year. One special file clerk was used full time to search for requested files that another file clerk had not been able to find in the expected place. It was estimated that 40 percent of the requested files were these â€Å"no hit† files requiring a search. Often these â€Å"no hit† files were eventually found stacked in the requester’s office. The primary â€Å"customers† of the file clerks were underwriters and claims attorneys. UNDERWRITING Company management and operations analysts were consistently told that the greatest problem in the company was the inability of file clerks to supply files in a speedy fashion. The entire company from top to bottom viewed the productivity and effectiveness of the department as unacceptable. An underwriter used 20-50 files per day. Because of their distrust of the files department, underwriters tended to hoard often used files. A count by operations analysts found that each underwriter kept from 100-200 files in his or her office at any one time. An underwriter would request a file by computer and work on other business until the file was received. Benson employed 25 underwriters. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM Upper management was deeply concerned about this problem. The MIS department had suggested using video disks as a possible solution. A video disk system was found that would be sufficient for the Semester II Examination Papers IIBM Institute of Business Management companies needs at a cost of about $12 million. It was estimated that the system would take two years to install and make compatible with existing information systems. Another, less attractive was using microfilm. A microfilm system would require underwriters to go to a single keyboard to request paper copies of files. The cost of a microfilm system was $5 million. 1. What do you recommend? Should the company implement one of the new technologies? Why or why not? 2. An operations analyst suggested that company employees shared a â€Å"dump on the clerks† mentality. Explain. Caselet 2 Harrison T. Wenk III is 43, married, and has two children, ages 10 and 14. He has a master’s degree in education and teachers junior high school music in a small town in Ohio. Harrison’s father passed away two months ago, leaving his only child an unusual business opportunity. According to his father’s will, Harrison has 12 months to become active in the family food-catering business, KareFull Katering, Inc., or it will be sold to two key employees for a reasonable and fair price. If Harrison becomes involved, the two employees have the option to purchase a significant, but less than majority, interest in the firm. Harrison’s only involvement with this business, which his grandfather established, was as an hourly employee during high school and college summers. He is confident that he could learn and perhaps enjoy the marketing side of the business, and that he could retain the long-time head of accounting/finance. But he would never really enjoy day-to-da y operations. In fact, he doesn’t understand what operations management really involves. In 1991 Kare-Full Katering, Inc. had $3.75 million in sales in central Ohio. Net profit after taxes was $ 105,000, the eleventh consecutive year of profitable operations and the seventeenth in the last 20 years. There are 210 employees in this labor-intense business. Institutional contracts account for over 70 percent of sales and include partial food services for three colleges, six commercial establishments) primarily manufacturing plants and banks), two long -term care facilities, and five grade schools. Some customer location employs a permanent operations manager; others are served from the main kitchens of Kare-Full Katering. Harrison believes that if he becomes active in the business, one of the two key employees, the vice president of operations, will leave the firm.Harrison has decided to complete the final two months of this school year and then spend the summer around Kare-Full Katering – as well as institutions with their own food services – to assess whether he wants to become involved in the business. He is particularly interested in finding out as much as possible about operations. Harrison believes he owes it to his wife and children to fairly evaluate this opportunity.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Opioid Substitution Treatment Barriers Health And Social Care Essay

ISSUES. Opioid permutation intervention is internationally recognised as the most effectual intercession available to handle opioid dependance. There is concern that capacity at public clinics and pharmaceuticss is deficient to run into high demand, ensuing in a cohort of opioid-dependent patients left untreated. Research has focussed on pharmaceutics barriers to OST bringing but small is known about the public clinic sector. APPROACH. A narrative reappraisal was conducted by thorough scrutiny of relevant literature in electronic databases ; Medline, CINAHL and Cochrane. Cardinal FINDINGS. Despite the enlargement of OST and vacancies in pharmaceuticss, some opioid-dependent patients continue to confront barriers that block entree to intervention. These barriers are varied and multi-faceted. For the patient, stigma and a compulsory dispensing fee are important deterrences to pharmacy dosing. For the druggist, negative behaviors associated with OST patients such as debt, larceny and aggressive behavior and full capacity are grounds that impede proviso of OST. In public clinics, the backlog of stable patients non being transferred to pharmacy dosing is a suspected barrier that has non been extensively investigated. IMPLICATIONS. Research has explored pharmaceutics and patient barriers to OST entree but less is known about the public clinic barriers. More research is warranted into public clinics to clarify possible barriers of all grades of the OST system. CONCLUSION. This reappraisal emphasises the dearth of research into OST bringing in public clinics. Further probe into the processs of OST in clinics is necessary and should concentrate on patient appraisal, referral and direction. Keywords: opioid permutation intervention, pharmaceutics, clinic Word count: 246 Researching barriers to opioid permutation intervention in pharmaceuticss and public clinicsIntroductionOpioid dependance carries a scope of important inauspicious wellness, economic and societal jobs to the person and wider community, including the hazard of overdose, the spread of infective diseases ( HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C ) , psychological jobs, drug-related offense, wellness impairment and household break [ 1, 2 ] . Opioid permutation intervention ( OST ) is internationally recognised as the most good and cost-efficient pharmacological intercession available for the intervention of opioid dependance [ 3, 4 ] . In response to an addition in the Australian population of heroin-dependent users in the 1990s [ 5, 6 ] the authorities introduced OST as a injury minimization scheme to understate these inauspicious effects [ 7 ] . Since so OST bringing has steadily increased under the National Pharmacotherapy Policy and National Drug Strategy [ 7, 8 ] . The figure of patients has ri sen in surplus of 2,000 clients per twelvemonth since 2007 and at the clip of authorship, there are presently over 46, 000 clients having intervention in Australia entirely [ 8 ] . In Australia, OST involves supervised day-to-day dosing of one of three long-acting opioid replacing medical specialties ( dolophine hydrochloride, buprenorphine or buprenorphine/naloxone ) . Most new patients are initiated into intervention by the doctor at a public clinic under the supervising of a nurse or instance director. In this scene they have entree to single instance direction, reding and specialist medical support at no charge. Once they become stabilised on intervention, patients are encouraged to reassign their dosing to a community pharmaceutics [ 2 ] , thereby emancipating their dosing topographic point at the public clinic for a new patient. There is a concern that this tract is non every bit smooth as it appears. As at June 2008, an estimated 41,000 opioid dependent people in the community were still unable to entree intervention and the job is declining [ 9 ] . Confusing the job is the fact that there is no bing agencies of measuring the precise demand for intervention and no systematic monitoring of waiting times in the pharmacotherapy system [ 9 ] . Proposed accounts for this issue are varied and multi-faceted. It is believed the system capacity at both the populace clinics and the community pharmaceutics degrees may non be sufficient to suit the high demand for OST, therefore the ground why an estimated 50 % heroin-users are non in intervention. Previous surveies have investigated the pharmaceutics barriers to OST but at that place appears to be a deficiency of research into the drug and intoxicant clinics [ 10, 11 ] . This reappraisal aims to research the literature refering to OST in Australia. In peculiar the reappraisal will look into the grounds for the â€Å" unmet demand † [ 9 ] of opioid dependant patients necessitating these services and the bing barriers to the proviso, entree and consumption of OST faced by both patients and healthcare suppliers.MethodA narrative literature reappraisal was conducted by thorough scrutiny of the literature in 3 electronic databases Medline, CINAHL and Cochrane. The undermentioned keywords and phrases were searched: â€Å" opiate ( opioid ) permutation ( replacing ) intervention ( therapy ) † , â€Å" referral † , â€Å" dolophine hydrochloride † , â€Å" buprenorphine † , â€Å" pharmaceutics † , â€Å" drug and intoxicant clinic † , â€Å" drug wellness clinic † and â€Å" harm minimization † . The mentions of relevant literature were besides searched. Documents were eligible for inclusion if they were written in English and published between the old ages 2000 and 2012. Documents were excluded if they chiefly focused on detoxification plans, naltrexone intervention, dolophine hydrochloride for hurting alleviation or if they pertained to patients other than big opioid-dependent patients. A comprehensive hunt of Australian cyberspace resources was besides conducted. The primary sites were Australian national and province authorities wellness policy and statistics sites ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.druginfo.nsw.gov.au/ , hypertext transfer protocol: //www.aihw.gov.au/ , hypertext transfer protocol: //www.health.nsw.gov.au/ , hypertext transfer protocol: //www.nhmrc.gov.au ) and the UNSW National Drug & A ; Alcohol Research Centre ( NDARC ) .RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:Several surveies have shown OST to be associated with benefits including reduced illicit opioid usage, lower associated offense rates and improved wellness results [ 3, 12, 13 ] . It has besides been demonstrated to be more extremely cost-efficient than detoxification or rehabilitation [ 4 ] . In response to increasing demand, the figure of dosing sites in Australia has increased from 2,081 ( 2005-06 ) to 2,200 ( 2009-10 ) with the major addition being in the figure of new pharmaceuticss taking to offe r OST services [ 8 ] . Community pharmaceuticss are the chief suppliers of OST in Australia, accounting for 43 % of OST patients in NSW. This is in line with other states such as the UK, France, Germany and New Zealand where pharmaceutics is emerging as a head of OST proviso [ 14-16 ] . Although pharmacy proviso of OST has expanded, there are still people who can non entree these dosing sites, restricted by certain barriers. The lone solid grounds of these people is on waiting lists, but presently in Australia there is no official demand to supervise waiting lists or capacity [ 9, 17-19 ] . Factors explicating the inability of OST plans to run into current demand are multifaceted and interconnected and scope from deficient figure of intervention topographic points depending on location to barriers faced by patients in accessing OST such as rural location or restricted dosing hours. Much research has focussed on the challenges faced by suppliers of OST services, viz. community pharmaceuticss, GPs and public clinics.OST in community pharmaceuticsCommunity pharmaceutics histories for 43 % of OST patients in NSW. Most surveies on OST proviso are survey-based. In a study of NSW public clinic patients, 80 % of participants preferable pharmaceutics dosing over the clinic [ 20 ] . Benefits of pharmaceutics that have been cited in patient studies include greater community integrating, a more stable dosing environment, flexible dosing hours, less travel clip and cost ( the patient may be referred to a pharmaceutics closer to their reference ) and the chance for regular takeout doses [ 20-22 ] . Takeouts are extremely valued by opioid dependent patients as they facilitate the standardization of life [ 21 ] . Patients can devour their dosage unsupervised and the decreased frequence of dosing attending allows clients to prosecute employment and instruction chances and fulfil household duties. Sing they are merely routinely given to stable patients in community pharmaceuticss and non by and large in public clinics, takeouts are a major inducement to pharmaceutics dosing. Although demand and patient penchant for pharmaceutics dosing is high, patients may still confront barriers that deter them from come ining into pharmaceutics intervention. Stigma Whilst patients on OST reported high degrees of satisfaction, a common issue in dosing sites was the presence of negative staff opinion and stigma [ 10, 21, 22 ] . When Deering et Al. ( 2011 ) asked New Zealand OST patients how intervention could be improved, an overpowering bulk identified ‘better intervention by staff ‘ [ 10 ] . The position that staff behavior could be improved was supported in a study by Kehoe et Al. ( 2004 ) nevertheless contrastingly 80 % of respondents besides reported that staff intervention was satisfactory or first-class [ 21 ] . This disagreement suggests that whilst patients were overall satisfied with staff intervention, they still felt the demand for betterment. Financial load Another common hindrance to OST identified in the literature is the fiscal load of intervention faced by patients [ 11, 20, 22, 23 ] . Whilst intervention costs in NSW public clinics are to the full subsidised by the province authorities, pharmaceutics dosing incurs a hebdomadal dispensing fee runing from about $ 30- $ 35 [ 22 ] . In one survey, 32 % of public clinic patients surveyed claimed they could non afford the pharmaceutics distributing fees perchance explicating their involuntariness to reassign to pharmacy [ 20 ] . The balance were merely able to pay an mean $ 10 a hebdomad, an sum well lower than $ 33.56, the average hebdomadal dispensing fee reported by Lea et al [ 22 ] . The fact that 23 % pharmaceutics clients owed the pharmaceutics money for dosing [ 22 ] confirms that a significant figure of OST clients struggle to afford pharmaceutics distributing fees. The theoretical account used in Canberra in which 50 % of the distributing fee is subsidised, [ 24 ] is intended to ease the pecuniary load and act as an added inducement for intervention keeping or entryway. No surveies have yet evaluated the consequence of lower fees on patient keeping times. From the druggist perspective client debt likewise serves as a deterrence against the bringing of OST or uptake of new patients. Other jobs related to behavioral disinhibition, aggression, larceny and the negative impact on concern and other clients have all been identified as grounds impacting druggists ‘ proviso of OST [ 25, 26 ] . In contrast to pharmacist concerns, one survey in the UK interviewed pharmaceutics clients and found the bulk to be overall supportive of pharmaceuticss presenting drug user services [ 14 ] , with the specification that privateness was necessary. The demand for equal privateness is in line with OST patient positions [ 22 ] . However qualitative informations was sourced from interviews which may be skewed by interviewee disposition to give socially desirable replies. Role of the GP prescriber Another common job experienced by community druggists is the trouble reaching prescribers and the prescribing of takeout doses to unstable patients [ 26 ] . Pharmacists identified the hazard of recreation of takeout doses and hapless appraisal of stableness as issues that required improved interprofessional coaction with prescribers. Interestingly in one survey a bulk of druggists agreed that prescriber communicating was equal, nevertheless little sample size and the rural location which tends to further closer interprofessional relationships may be accountable [ 27 ] . Winstock et Al. ( 2010 ) recommends the public-service corporation of standardized resources such as the NSW Department of Health ‘Patient Journey Kits ‘ to steer multidisciplinary attention of OST patients [ 26, 28 ] . Another facet lending to system capacity is the reduced supply of prescribers for OST. GPs are frequently the first point of contact for opioid-dependent people. They are required to set about extra preparation to go commissioned opioid pharmacotherapy prescribers [ 29 ] . GPs play an intrinsic function in the initial showing, appraisal and on-going feedback and monitoring of OST clients. The issue lies in the ripening work force and the retirement of commissioned prescribers, thereby cut downing intervention entree [ 17 ] . Public clinics are the lone prescribing option but considerable barriers including full system capacity and the deficiency of motion of stable patients out of clinics into pharmaceuticss besides limit the public clinics ability to suit excess patients. Unexplained vacancies Despite grounds of an â€Å" unmet demand † [ 9 ] , a survey conducted by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre ( NDARC ) found that more than half of OST-providing pharmaceuticss reported an norm of 7 vacancies to dose extra patients. Data extrapolation of to all NSW pharmaceuticss registered to present OST suggests that there are about 3000 vacant dosing topographic points across NSW. Whilst a 3rd of pharmaceuticss in the survey were runing at full capacity, some pharmaceuticss reported functioning no clients [ 18 ] . This spectrum of clients across registered pharmaceuticss and the being of current vacancies exemplify the underutilisation of community pharmaceutics dosing topographic points. However the fact that these vacancies may non ever be located where the demand is highest has to be taken into consideration. For illustration patient entree to intervention in rural locations is frequently restricted due to limited pharmaceutics Numberss and longer going distan ces [ 25 ] . From the literature, it appears NSW pharmaceuticss have the capacity to increase consumption of clients, with a possible 70 % of pharmaceuticss capable but non willing to supply OST services. Factors identified that would promote druggists to increase client Numberss include the stableness of the patient, higher fiscal additions per client and the option to instantly return unstable patients to public clinics [ 18 ] . However some public clinics expressed concern about taking back unstable patients, proposing there was no warrant of available dosing capacity, one time a new patient had been inducted [ 18 ] .OST in public clinicsEntree to OST is determined by both the handiness of pharmaceuticss supplying OST every bit good as the capacity of public clinics to take on extra clients [ 19, 26 ] . However harmonizing to an expansive NSW state-wide study on OST by Winstock et Al. ( 2008 ) , there appears to be an underutilisation of available pharmaceutics dosing sites and limited capacit y in public clinics [ 19 ] . Whilst the bulk of literature has focussed on pharmaceutics proviso of OST, relatively less research has been conducted into the public clinic grade of the OST system despite representing 19 % of dosing patients in NSW [ 8 ] . Public clinics have become an increasing country of involvement driven by studies that the motion of stable patients through the clinics out to community pharmaceuticss appears to be dead [ 17, 19 ] . This is ensuing in a backlog of patients barricading new patients from accessing intervention at the clinics. The proportion of stable patients transferred from the clinics to pharmaceuticss is estimated to be really low at 3-15 % a month [ 18 ] . Surveyed patients have cited a reluctance or inability to afford a dispensing fee and feeling dying about reassigning [ 20 ] as grounds against transportation. Precedence groups Intensifying the limited capacity of public clinics is the duty of supplying priority entree of vacancies to groups that meet standards stipulated under NSW Health directives [ 2, 7 ] . Cohorts include released captives, pregnant adult females, people with HIV, hepatitis B bearers and those on a recreation plan as ordered by the tribunal. [ 19 ] Similarly clients that show hazardous forms of illicit substance maltreatment such as those with mental unwellness and intoxicant dependance, or those that exhibit aggressive or antisocial behaviors are better managed at the public clinic instead than at a pharmaceutics. As a consequence many patients who do non run into ‘priority ‘ position are forced to wait. Obviously there is a demand to increase the efficient transportation rate of patients out to pharmaceuticss to do infinite for these clients. As antecedently mentioned, there is no consistent systematic process or set guidelines to help clinicians in covering with these iss ues and as of yet, no research has been conducted on their response to pull offing these issues. A 2008 SWAT study of NSW public clinics reported that when unable to offer immediate intervention, clinics either provided injury decrease advice referred to another public clinic, a private clinic or a GP, or offered detoxification. The assortment of actions and the effectivity of each have non been assessed and look to be decided upon at the discretion of the presiding OST practician at the clinic. Recommendations by the SWAT squad include developing a standardised response when a clinic can non offer a intervention topographic point to a client, and systematic monitoring of capacity to explicate more timely intervention in the hereafter [ 19 ] . Stability appraisal and referral processs An obstruction inherent to the pharmacotherapy system is the clinical appraisal of patient stableness and referral process. The triage function of stableness appraisal is usually coordinated by Nursing Unit of measurement Managers ( NUMs ) or a cardinal stakeholder in the public clinic and involves reexamining patient dosing history and behavior and placing those suited for transportation [ 30 ] . Currently no surveies into the clinical function or preparation of NUMs in OST proviso have been conducted. Soon determinations are guided by clinical opinion. The lone available counsel is limited to authorities policy, instead than scientific grounds and no standardized guidelines exist [ 30 ] . Whilst there are over 300 hazard appraisal instruments available to mensurate results of patients in drug and intoxicant intervention, no individual standardised attack has been nationally adopted or endorsed for OST [ 30 ] . A survey by Winstock et Al. ( 2009 ) found that execution of a province broad preparation plan improved client stableness appraisal with 25 % of staff increasing the figure of clients transferred out to community pharmaceutics [ 31 ] . However the objectiveness of this survey was affected as the method involved clinicians self-reporting cognition and accomplishments prior to and after preparation. However the survey provides preliminary grounds that acceptance of standardized appraisal processes increases the transparence of clinical determinations and can better entree to O ST [ 19, 31 ] . As above-named there appears to be underutilisation of community pharmaceutics OST services with some dosing at full capacity, whilst at the other terminal of the spectrum, some pharmaceuticss serve no patients. The bulk of pharmaceuticss reported vacancies. Whilst 75 % of clinics reportedly monitored available capacity within local pharmaceuticss, it is possible that the remainder are directing clients to overfilled dosing sites [ 18 ] . No formal survey has as of yet explored how clients refer and allocate patients to pharmaceuticss and how pharmaceuticss are selected.DecisionFrom the reappraisal of the literature, there is grounds to propose that the current opioid permutation intervention capacity may non be sufficient to run into demand for intervention. Several barriers have been identified that restrict patient entree to intervention. Pharmacy barriers include the minority of community pharmaceuticss that opt in to present dosing, pharmacist reluctance to take on new patients due to perceived associated negative behaviors and old experiences and patient involuntariness or inability to pay the dispensing fee. The deficiency of prescribers is another aspect contributing to the decreased entree to available intervention. An country of involvement is the part of the public clinic grade of the OST system, nevertheless there is an evident dearth of research conducted into the direction of OST entree in public clinics. The dead flow of stable patients reassigning dosing from the public clinics to community pharmaceuticss is suspected to be impacting entree to intervention for new patients who do non run into precedence standards and are forced to wait. There is preliminary grounds to propose that a standardized attack to stability appraisal may ease stable patient transportation and liberate dosing sites in clinics for non-priority groups. Further research needs to be conducted into the stableness appraisal and referral processs of OST, the bing tools and processs and how effectual they will be in shuting the spread between demand and supply of OST.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Environment: Pollution and Human Activity

Nowadays the Earth faces a number of serious problems, such as the environment pollution, the increasing population, the fatal effects of nuclear weapons, etc. The problems arising from not just development in terms of science and technology but also the increase in human demands based on population and economy.According to Professor David Karoly from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne, it is time to take urgent action to slow global warming by human activities, because the impacts of human-caused climate change in many natural systems much earlier than previous studies had projected which are being seen (Proof: humans have damaged earth, 2008). There is inconvertible fact that in history of humanity, human causes detrimental effects on earth. Indeed, human activity affects nature and human environment. For centuries, many activities of human have destroyed ecosystem of the Earth.Deforestation and over-hunting is one of the main causes of this serious sit uation. The world is very big, but natural resources are not endless. In fact, Dave Gilbert (2012) announced that nearly a fifth of the Brazilian forest has been lost since 1970. That means all of the trees, plants, insects, animals and people who live there either killed or forced to find a new home. The world population is growing rapidly, so people need food and shelter. Many food and housing means that they need more land from nature. Therefore, they cut down trees to build houses, deforest to plant vegetables and raise cattle.They destroy natural areas in order to expand cities and towns, and they overuse natural resources. Now people only can see some animals in the zoo because they have disappeared in nature. In addition, intensive and indiscriminate fishing in freshwater systems, such as Lake Victoria in East Africa have catastrophic effects may prove to biodiversity (Elsa & Michael, 2011). Poaching is not only a serious problem but also massive over-fishing. Many nations ha ve banned illegal activities, but enforcement is very difficult. Industrial pollution and daily waste is also a major factor affecting the environment.Admittedly, people are producing more and more rubbish, because they prefer to eat the ready-made food. This has given rise to the rubbish production. These garbage produce in many ways and unfortunately, have bad effect on ecosystem. Susan Patterson (2014) showed that farmers in the U. S. use about 450 billion kilograms of pesticides every year, so most of the rivers and streams in the U. S. have more chemicals that cause cancer and birth defects. In industry, many companies are causing a lot of pollution. The fast rate of growth of chemicals industry has seriously affected the health of not only the environment but also the population.The companies have chimneys that emit bad toxic that pollutes the air. They also use chemicals that are bad for the environment. The chemicals have bad environmental effect on the water and ground. The environment’s pollution levels are important, because it can effect badly on human bodies. Air pollution can affect the ability to breath, water pollution can affect human health, and lastly the ground pollution can affect all sorts of different cancers, such as lymph node cancer and stomach cancer. Correspondingly, the companies also occupy many places where animals and plants live.The projects improve roads and highways between beautiful greenwood and virgin forest. Therefore, with decreasing forests, people face to increase the gas of carbon dioxide that there are not enough plants to absorb it. According to Chennal (2012), as many as 300 volunteers from Youth Exnora International and HCL Technologies cleaned Marina Beach on July 4. For resolving the increasing stress on the environment and resources, and also responding to the ever-increasing demands of the citizens for environmental quality protection and improvement in ecological environment, many organizations and cam paigns is set up to protect environment.On the other hand, the modern life brings human many convenient things such as road and cars. Human can travel or go to other places more conveniently. They also have more convenient and entertaining things such as television, microwave, computer, and air conditioner. No one can deny that some human activities make the earth a better to live. However, these things could destroy our environment. A lot of air pollution emits to environment from electricity generation. Exhausted gas from cars and flue gas from factories also pollute the air.Besides, the natural resources that used as the main energy are not endless as we thought. Modern industries need more and more resources such as oils, gases, fuels, and water. So, people faced to the serious problems such as the shortage of fuels and water. Human will die of thirst if they waste water, or die of hungry if they waste the needful fuels that they need for cooking food. If human are not careful a bout how we use the natural resources, they will lose many of them in the near future.The Earth is being changes by human-caused. Many people are still trying to protect the environment against danger. With practical activities such as planting trees, building national parks, protecting danger animals, etc. However, the bad influences are outweighed the good. Human activity is harming not only the Earth but also the living habitats of animals and people. In sum, people should consider carefully before doing something to minimize bad influences on the earth and protect the human life.