Distinction of Sex and Gender

1. The sex/gender distinction. The terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ mean different things to different feminist theorists and neither are easy or straightforward to characterize. Sketching out some feminist history of the terms provides a helpful starting point. 1. 1 Biological determinism Most people ordinarily seem to think that sex and gender are coextensive: women are human females, men are human males. Many feminists have historically disagreed and have endorsed the sex/ gender distinction.Provisionally: ‘sex’ denotes human females and males depending on biological features (chromosomes, sex organs, hormones and other physical features);‘gender’ denotes women and men depending on social factors (social role, position, behaviour or identity). The main feminist motivation for making this distinction was to counter biological determinism or the view that biology is destiny. A typical example of a biological determinist view is that of Ged des and Thompson who, in 1889, argued that social, psychological and behavioural traits were caused by metabolic state.Women supposedly conserve energy (being ‘anabolic’) and this makes them passive, conservative, sluggish, stable and uninterested in politics. Men expend their surplus energy (being ‘katabolic’) and this makes them eager, energetic, passionate, variable and, thereby, interested in political and social matters. These biological ‘facts’ about metabolic states were used not only to explain behavioural differences between women and men but also to justify what our social and political arrangements have to be.It would be inappropriate to grant women political rights, as they are simply not suited to have those rights; it would also be futile since women (due to their biology) would simply not be interested in exercising their political rights. To counter this kind of biological determinism, feminists have argued that behavioural and psychological differences have social, rather than biological, causes. For instance, Simone de Beauvoir famously claimed that one is not born, but rather becomes a woman, and that â€Å"social discrimination produces in women moral and intellectual effects so profound that they appear to be caused by nature†.Commonly observed behavioural traits associated with women and men, then, are not caused by anatomy or chromosomes. Rather, they are culturally learned or acquired. Although biological determinism of the kind endorsed by Geddes and Thompson is nowadays uncommon, the idea that behavioural and psychological differences between women and men have biological causes has not disappeared. In the 1970s, sex differences were used to argue that women should not become airline pilots since they will be hormonally unstable once a month and, therefore, unable to perform their duties as well as men (Rogers 1999, 11).More recently, differences in male and female brains have been said to explain behavioural differences; in particular, the anatomy of corpus callosum, a bundle of nerves that connects the right and left cerebral hemispheres, is thought to be responsible for various psychological and behavioural differences. 1. 2 Gender terminology In order to distinguish biological differences from social/psychological ones and to talk about the latter, feminists appropriated the term ‘gender’.Psychologists writing on trans sexuality were the first to employ gender terminology in this sense. However, in order to explain why some people felt that they were ‘trapped in the wrong bodies’, the psychologist Robert Stoller (1968) began using the terms ‘sex’ to pick out biological traits and ‘gender’ to pick out the amount of femininity and masculinity a person showed. Along with psychologists like Stoller, feminists found it useful to distinguish sex and gender.This enabled them to argue that many differences between women and men were socially produced and, therefore, changeable. For instance Gayle Rubin's thought was that although biological differences are fixed, gender differences are the oppressive results of social interventions that dictate how women and men should behave. Women are oppressed as women and â€Å"by having to be women† (Rubin 1975, 204). However, since gender is social, it is thought to be changeable and adjustable by political and social reform that would ultimately bring an end to women's subordination.Feminism should aim to create a â€Å"genderless (though not sexless) society, in which one's sexual anatomy is irrelevant to who one is, what one does, and with whom one makes love† (Rubin 1975, 204). In some earlier interpretations, like Rubin's, sex and gender were thought to complement one another. The slogan ‘Gender is the social interpretation of sex’ captures this view. Nicholson calls this ‘the coat-rack view’ of gender: our sexed bodies are like coat racks and â€Å"provide the site upon which gender [is] constructed† (1994, 81).Gender conceived of as masculinity and femininity is superimposed upon the ‘coat-rack’ of sex as each society imposes on sexed bodies their cultural conceptions of how males and females should behave. This socially constructs gender differences – or the amount of femininity/masculinity of a person– upon our sexed bodies. That is, according to this interpretation, all humans are either male or female; their sex is fixed. But cultures interpret sexed bodies differently and project different norms on those bodies thereby creating feminine and masculine persons.So, this group of feminist arguments against biological determinism suggested that gender differences result from cultural practices and social expectations. Nowadays it is more common to denote this by saying that gender is socially constructed. This means that genders (women and men) and gendere d traits (like being nurturing or ambitious) are the â€Å"intended or unintended product[s] of a social practice† (Haslanger 1995, 97). But which social practices construct gender, what social construction is and what being of a certain gender amounts to are major feminist controversies.There is no consensus on these issues. (See the entry on Intersections between Analytic and Continental Feminism for more on different ways to understand gender. ) 5. Conclusion This entry first looked at feminist arguments against biological determinism and the claim that gender is socially constructed. Next, it examined feminist critiques of prevalent understandings of gender and sex, and the distinction itself. In response to these concerns, the final section looked at how a unified women's category could be articulated for feminist political purposes and illustrated (at least) two things.First, that gender — or what it is to be a woman or a man — is still very much a live is sue. Second, that feminists have not entirely given up the view that gender is about social factors and that it is (in some sense) distinct from biological sex. The jury is still out on what the best, the most useful or (even) the correct definition of gender is. And some contemporary feminists still find there to be value in the original 1960s sex/gender distinction.

Categories of Music Essay

1. What is a symphony? A symphony is an elaborate musical composition for full orchestra, typically in four movements. 2. What is a sonata? How is it related to the sonata form? A sonata is a large-scale composition that is played rather than sung. 3. What is a coda? A coda will use music from the movement, typically doesn’t does not add anything to the â€Å"argument†. 4. What are the three different parts of the sonata form? Describe each part. The three parts off sonata are Exposition, Development, and Recapitulation. Exposition is the first part of the sonata, where the composer will bring in or â€Å"expose†all of the music ideas. Development is the second part of the sonata, it is where the composer builds on the two themes from the exposition. Recapitulation is the third part of the sonata, it is where exposition is repeated. 5. What are the three different periods of Beethoven’s work? Describe each part. Critical Thinking Questions 1. What are the characteristics of the music of the Classical period? 2. How does the music of the Classical period differ from the music of the Baroque period? Baroque music tends to be for small chamber orchestras and is usually very  intricate, with many layers. Classical music tends to be for larger orchestras and for showing off virtuoso talents or entertainment rather than for praising God or presenting solemn tunes to kings, as much Baroque music was. 3. Choose one of the composers discussed in the lesson and listen to some of his work. Which pieces did you listen to? How would you describe these pieces of music? What makes the music characteristic of the Classical era? 4. What social and cultural influences impacted the music of the Classical period? Do you think today’s music is influenced by social and cultural factors? Why or why not? Both art and politics were great composers who knew what they were doing and their composings had amazing hits. 5. What was important about Vienna during the Classical period? Vienna was important during the Classical period because great civilization was developed in the past and actually in classical period.

Bernard Marx

Bernard is very inquisitive meaning he is curious about lots of things that h append in this society, like all the conditioning that people go through to make them idà ©e initial. On page 96 it states in the text, â€Å"Through his discomfort Bernard eagerly listened. † Bernard, who is trying to take a trip with Lenin Crowner to a savage reservation in New Mexico. Takes in his permit to the Director of Central London Hatchery and Condition Eng Centre. The director is kind of like the boss over all that happens in the conditioning p art of London.He notices where Bernard is going and started to tell him about the tit me that he went to the same reservation. His story about how he lost one of his many pa raters while hiking a mountain made Bernard uncomfortable but he was also intrigued ABA out the dangers that this place might hold. The Savage's lived very different and they were very Bishop 2 barbaric compared to how Bernard and the society he lived lived. Bernard WA .NET to hear or know what happened with the director at the reservation, he was very ANSI us to find out.Most people in this society aren't curious because they believe everything is perfect. Ir read on page 124, † So hard for me to realize,† Bernard was saying, â€Å"to re construct. As though we were living on different planets, in different centuries. A mother , and all this dirt, and gods, and old age, and disease†¦ † He shook his head ‘I It is almost inconceivable. I shall never understand, unless you explain. â€Å". Bernard is talking g to John, the savage. While they are walking at the savage reservation Bernard is confuse seed about how differently John lives than himself.Bernard feels like it is very lodestone d and alienated in a way. He is curious about how or even why people like John live t hat way while they could be part of a much more efficient society. He has a hard time believing that they like living that way and dwells on John to have him explain their way of life. Another time that Bernard had an act of inquisitiveness is on page 117. ‘Be rand's questions made a diversion. Who? How? When? From where? † Bernard and Enola are on the savage reservation. They just witnessed a whipping ceremony and a m an named John asks them if they were from the other land.Bernard wants to know how John knew hey were from the other land. He was curious about it and he was curious ABA out John himself. Another trait Bernard portrays throughout the story is that he is intellectual I or intelligent. On page 138 Bernard says â€Å"l wonder if you'd like to come back to L Indo with us? † John and Bernard are walking and talking in the savage reservation. In the Bishop 3 midst of them talking Bernard realizes that if he were to prove that John as the e director's son that the director might change his mind about sending Bernard to Iceland .He was using his intelligence to save him from leaving London. What the two men shar ed was the knowledge that they were individuals. † read on page 67. The two men are Bernard Marx and Hellholes Watson. They both fee el like they don't fit in and are different than everyone else. Other people are too dumb t o realize that they don't live in a perfect society and the way they live is very barbaric and in humane. It takes intelligence to prove that you can be greater than the average citizen. On page 47 it says â€Å"thought Bernard Marx, who was a specialist on hypo Eddie. Hypermedia or sleep teaching is a very complex way of operant conditioning Bernard Marx is the one who now's all the specifics about it. Which makes him have a higher intellectual level about how it works and what it is. Distinct is another trait that represents Bernard Marx. He is very different t Han everyone else, which makes him unique. On 149 director says â€Å"by his heretical I views on sport and soma, by the scandalous unorthodoxy sessile, by his refusal to obey the teaching of Ou r Ford and behave out of office hour and just got back from his vacation and was told to see the director.The director, in front of a whole fertilizing or explained how Bernard was unfit to cooperate in the society that they live in, and that it why he has to go to Iceland. The way he behaves and his beliefs are very much h different than every other citizen. Bishop 4 On page 60 it says â€Å"Bonito produced a phial â€Å"one cubic centimeter cures ten gloomy. † Bernard had suddenly turned and rushed away. † Bernard and Bent o are talking about Lenin, and Bonito notices that Bernard is uncomfortable and offers hi m some soma. Bernard is against Soma because it takes away real feelings.Everyone else in the society likes to take soma because it makes them happy. Bernard is different t Han them because he likes to feel both bad and good emotions where other people just like to feel good. It stated on page 64, â€Å"Barnyard's physique was hardly better than that of the a verage gamma. † Bernard is an Alpha, which is the most perfect and sophistic dated out of all the five castes in the society. Almost every Alpha is the same height and ha s similar characteristics. Bernard stands 8 centimeters short of the Average Alpha height HTH and is more slender in proportion.

School Police summary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

School Police summary - Assignment Example Providing safety as experts and enforcing the law by maintaining order and promoting safety in schools as well as preventing and responding to crime by being the first responders in life threatening events. Solving problems and community resource liaisons by providing support for advanced planning for managing crises as well as linking all school stakeholders. They also assist in resolving problems that cannot be categorized as law violations, but are still safety related and contribute to crime if not dealt with immediately. The research made in relation to assigning police officers has shown that school stakeholders are satisfied with the school policing program. Studies have had mixed results with some showing improvements in school safety and reduction in crime while others have shown no change. Overall, the school police program has shown positive results within schools as well as students, especially students that have interacted with the assigned police officers. Police can help improve school safety by tackling school problems that can help in reducing bullying within schools, graffiti, truancy, and theft from lockers. Before any decision is made pertaining assigning police officers within schools, a clear image must be developed concerning specific safety issues to determine what response is appropriate and what would be the best way to focus available resources and funds. Additionally, SROs can address concerns within the standard police roles, which include threats or actual usage of weapons, hooliganism, physical violence, identification of illegal materials, and criminal behavior that takes place within and outside of school grounds. Before establishing an assigned police officer program, police departments and schools must consider the potential challenges. These challenges can be either operational or philosophical in nature, but can be addressed

Blog Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Blog - Essay Example In every fragment of the technology zone, leaders are beleaguered to concentrate on enhancing the processes that transport IT services to their industries, conglomerates and consumers. Reducing costs, giving speedier services, and increasing the value of a company or organization are all prerequisites in the world of Information Technology nowadays. The world is revolving so fast and the innovative advancements are comparable to an avalanche of new ideas and revolutionary approaches. A fluctuating and shifting demand is expected to take place. If these demands are left unaddressed, it can bring massive disasters toward a certain company. Seen this way, a necessity to align our IT services with the growing and varying tastes and trends of the consumers is imperative in maintaining the value of an organization. According to the Bloomberg BusinessWeek (2010), in a survey conducted in about 150 IT subdivisions at middle-sized companies, â€Å"IT Leadership Exchange found that 90 per cent of CIOs expect that the IT department will be misaligned with business needs in an economic recovery†¦this will threaten the business’s long-term competitiveness†. The job of bringing IT services and business precedence into line is more than scientific in context. Nevertheless, by way of continuing dialogue with the IT officials and by aligning our business objectives, the IT Leadership Exchange "finds that an IT department can boost its effectiveness to the company by 54 per cent" (Bloomberg, 2010). We see the importance of aligning our IT service and its management with the current inclinations of the consumers as part of the business goals of the company. But how do continual improvement on IT services and its management contribute in bettering the operational and process effectiveness? Also, how does it aid an organization to achieve cost effectiveness? In dealing with these critical points, there are manifold factors to consider: the IT

Sexual Assaults in Prison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sexual Assaults in Prison - Essay Example Even though the rate of imprisonment has increased over the years, most penal settings operate beyond the rated capacities. These lead to the crisis of overcapacity, limited resources and understaffing complications. Sexual assault in prisons has devastating psychological, social, and physical impacts on victims’ welfare. In most cases, the effects of sexual assault are exaggerated by captivity. In some instances, the affected persons face consistent infliction of fear, helplessness, physical assault as well as psychological trauma. The in-house problems in incarcerated centers are at times answerable to increased cases of sexual assaults in the penitentiary (Dumond, 2002). Sexual assaults have long term impacts on individual future growth and development. In addition to psychosomatic and physical harm, prisoners also face the peril of sexually transmitted diseases, depression, medical injuries, stigmatization, labeling, reduced social status, suicidal motivations, post-trauma disorders and reduction in individual esteem and social status. As a result, prisoners, jail administrators and clinicians ought to be aware of the increased cases of psychological and physical sexual acts and cases of victimization. Prison health practitioners should work hand in hand with the administrative staff and security to manage cases of sexual assaults and the subsequent intellectual, psychological and health conditions. Inmates are reported to have the highest level of sexual activity risks, high vulnerability to contagious diseases and highest rate of drug abuse. The recent decades have rising cases of sexual assaults and misconducts on female and male inmates by prison staffs. However, not all staffs are involved in these devastating acts. Cases of sexual assault by the staff members on the inmate are sometime accelerated by lack of a well defined

Self learning assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Self learning assessment - Essay Example To gain trust with readers writers typically convey an understanding of prevalent needs and issues through storytelling, metaphors, satire and humor. To gain credibility and expertise in certain types of written communication, a writer must conduct extensive research. For effective use of rhetoric in writing one must gain the readers trust (Livnat, 2009). The traditional definition of rhetoric, first proposed by Aristotle, and embellished over the centuries by scholars and teachers, is that rhetoric is the art of observing in any given case the â€Å"available means of persuasion.† We employ rhetoric whether we’re conscious of it or not, but becoming conscious of how rhetoric works has transformed my speaking, reading, and writing, making me more successful and an able communicator and a more discerning audience (Koerber, 2006). Genre refers to abstract, socially recognized ways of using language. I have learnt that it is based on the idea that members of a community usually have little difficulty in recognizing similarities in the texts they use frequently and are able to draw on their repeated experiences with such texts to read, understand, and perhaps write them relatively easily (Judy, 2008). This is, in part, because writing is a practice based on expectations: the reader’s chances of interpreting the writer’s purpose are increased if the writer takes the trouble to anticipate what the reader might be expecting based on previous texts they have read of the same kind. While genres are seen more specifically as related to groups, they are also seen in the wider context of the activities that surround the use of texts. Thus, for Swales (1998, p. 20), genres: ‘Orchestrate verbal life. These genres link the past and the present, and so balance forces for tradition and innovation. They s tructure the roles of individuals within wider frameworks and further assist those individuals with the actualization of their

DNA - The Double Helix Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DNA - The Double Helix - Lab Report Example To solve the DNA structure puzzle and discover what the molecule looked like, the work of many people was needed to come up with the full structure. The scientists used X-rays to see through DNA, a Three–Helical structure and specific base pairing to show the DNA structure (Nobelprize 9). It was also proved that genes are a result of replication of coded regions in the DNA which are passed from one generation to another. As a result, Gregor Mendel of Czech noted that certain traits such as colour in peas were inherited in different packages called genes. Oswald, an American, theory which stated hat the genes were made of nucleic acid was also affirmed. The game helps us know how copying of genome in an organism takes place and that different species like the mouse, mosquito, e-coli bacteria, fruit fly or flower have different amounts of DNA. It also helps in understanding how copying of genome in different organisms takes place. From the game, one is able to have an clear understanding that most living organisms have similar genetic material (DNA) as it gives a clear picture of DNA molecule structural shape (The double helix) which resembles a staircase and is found in almost every living organism. It also gives an easy way of pairing up bases that is A with T and G with C and helps one know that only up to three mutations are accepted in the human

International peacebuilding and the Role of Education Essay

International peacebuilding and the Role of Education - Essay Example Self-awareness denotes an individual’s ability to understand the self, personality, identity, as well as strengths and weaknesses. Researchers highlight that self-aware individuals are more likely to engage in positive approaches of conflict resolution. Conflict resolution has been defined a reconciliation process that promotes the peaceful tackling of conflicts. This research assumes that self-awareness is a precondition for developing awareness towards the world and enabling one to solve problems effectively while promoting social justice. Education has been identified as one of the avenues that promote the development of self-awareness. More so, multicultural education offered in a multicultural setting presents a better avenue for the development of self-awareness. According to Zirkel, multicultural education presents five main dimensions, which may serve as factors that promote self-awareness (1149). One of the dimensions is content integration, which implies that students are introduced to a diverse curriculum with ideas from different authors. Moreover, multicultural education is characterized by knowledge construction. According to Zirkel, knowledge construction makes an individual aware of how different frames affect the interpretation of the curriculum offered in the school. Multicultural education serves to reduce prejudice because of the positive inclusion efforts of both the students and the teaching staff. Moreover, Zirkel highlights that multicultural education promotes equity pedagogy, which ensures that all children have equal opportunities (1149). A multicultural setting in education also serves to empower the school culture and proves to be more empowering to individual students because there is minima racism. Evidently, content integration promotes identity developments in students. Although the relationship is not simple, there is evidence suggesting that students who

Environmental regulations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Environmental regulations - Research Paper Example Due to the fact, the following essay explains various regulations that have come of age. Development of standards that guide the proper usage of water has been the work of the department of the pollution control with the assistance of other agencies (Rerks-Ngarm, 2009). The institute together with other agencies provides the item, the pollution center of excellence in an attempt of improving the air situation in the country. Other works include the monitoring of the air and pollution, emission inventories, and air quality teaching as the others were studying in order to work alongside other partners. Another step is the provision of technical expertise for the provision of support for groups working to reduce contaminated soil, as well as water emissions. In addition, the Thailand government prohibits direct emissions of polluted water by manufacturing companies into the environment. Other enactments ensure the limited burning of waste products such as the burning of PVCs is in an open air. Some of the direct legislation includes the conservation and enhancement of the natural environment quality act of 1992. The standard of water quality act that ensures clean waters is a consistent provision to the citizens. The noise and air quality acts of 2007 that limit the extent of noise, as well as air pollution. In addition, there is the quality of soil act of 2004 that ensures the conservation of soil. The department of labor stipulates the working conditions that articulate the holidays, the minimum wage, the severance pay and the supreme working hours. The supreme number of working time is eight hours in a day that sums up to forty-eight hours a week. The enactments are an exception of work that the law defines as hazardous. In such scenarios, the working hours are seven or forty-two hours in a working week. Employees have thirteen holidays in a year. Besides, the employees are entitled to vacations of six days after a whole year of work that has no breaks. The

The Political Theory of Machiavelli Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

The Political Theory of Machiavelli - Essay Example It makes sense to ask a question about whether it is possible to justify his political concept and see its validity. Following the logic of Abramson, one can find two main arguments in favor of the validity of Machiavelli’s theory. The first argument assumes that Machiavelli considered his theory as useful for those rulers who tried to avoid evil because he was aware that political activity is always associated with a certain kind of cruelty and violence (location 2085). In turn, the second argument is that the philosopher developed his political concept based on the use of pagan rather than Christian morality (locations 2094 and 2101). As he saw it, in contrast to Christian ethics, pagan morality gave much more opportunities to solve an extremely important political task, namely the unification of Italy (location 2101). In general, the validity of his concept stems from the fact that it was aimed at strengthening the political power in Italy and its unification into a single country able to demonstrate a high economic and social potential. Thus, the aim of the paper is to provide two main arguments in favor of the political theory of Machiavelli. As previously noted, the negative attitude towards the political philosophy of Machiavelli is due to the fact that the philosopher justified the use of violence, abuse, lies, and deceit to gain the authority of the governor. In his famous work titled The Prince, Machiavelli suggested political leadership based on a number of principles, in particular, pursuing the aim to eliminate political opponents. One can identify a few basic principles proposed by Machiavelli in this work. Firstly, the philosopher said that the desire to seize power using violence and cruelty is rather natural.

Case Study Essay Example for Free

Case Study Essay Why is it important to get the patient’s assessment of health care quality? Does the patient have the expertise to judge the health care he or she receives? The patient is the customer. If the patient â€Å"perceives† that the health care received is inadequate, then he or she may go elsewhere the next time these services are needed. Although patients may not have the expertise to judge some aspects of 2 health care, they can judge appearances of competence, improvements in the way they feel, how they are treated, the cleanliness and comfort of the environment, and timely responses to service requests. . How might a hospital measure quality? Measuring quality in a service setting such as a hospital can sometimes be dif? cult. One obvious way is to keep track of the number of patient complaints—or even lawsuits. Some other measures that could be used include, but are not limited to, the following:  ¦ Average time for nurses to respond to a patients’ call  ¦ Average time spent by patients in intensive care  ¦ Average recovery time after surgery  ¦ Average condition of patients upon discharge  ¦ Change in patient condition between admission and discharge  ¦ Number patients per staff member 3. Using the steps in the table in the case discuss how each might apply to FCGH. To answer this question, one must remember that the product provided by FCGH is health care. However, it must also be remembered that the hospital’s staff (nurses, physicians, lab technicians, etc. ) are the suppliers of that service. Thus, quality of service will depend a great deal on the staff—their motivation, attention to details, morale, level of caring, etc. Quality to the Customer:  ¦ Is conformance of the service provided compared to established quality standards? Is quality of the hospital’s health are service compared with that of competitors? Quality Costs:  ¦ Have the costs of quality been measured and have possible areas for cost savings been identi? ed? Design Review:  ¦ Do procedures exist to review patient treatment for quality? Are these procedures being carried out? Product Quali? cation:  ¦ Have procedures been established and followed to qualify new treatme nts before they are used on patients? Product Liability:  ¦ Has each treatment been scrutinized regarding safety and are appropriate records kept? Does a written plan exist for dealing with major problems regarding patient? Process Capability:  ¦ Has the effectiveness and risk of each treatment been measured, and is that information used in selecting treatments? Incoming Inspection:  ¦ Is incoming material inspected? Are staff members evaluated before being hired? Are records of these evaluations kept? Supplier Quality:  ¦ Are suppliers and staff members made aware of their quality responsibilities? Are records kept on nonconformance? Process Control:  ¦ Has the hospital developed policies for controlling treatments and lab tests? Have employees been trained to follow these policies? Inspection and Test Planning: Do inspection and test plans exist for all services provided and are records maintained on the results? Are all test procedures and equipment regularly checked for accuracy? Quality Performance Indicators:  ¦ Are quality performance indicators regularly published throughout the hospital and made available to employees? Employee Involvement Program:  ¦ Are employees involved in quali ty improvement through some process such as quality circles? Multifunctional Quality Improvement Team:  ¦ Has a quality improvement team covering all functional areas been established to monitor quality work and to work o improve it? Quality Business Plan:  ¦ Has quality been integrated into the hospital’s business plan—and from there into the overall strategic plan? 4. How can the value of a human life be included in the cost of quality control? Placing a cost on a human life is, of course, dif? cult. However, even companies that manufacture goods must deal with this if there is the possibility that a defective product could result in death. In a hospital setting death is always a possibility due to unforeseen complications or adverse drug reactions. The best approach for FCGH may be to follow whatever policies and rocedures will produce the least chance of patient death. 5. There are certain parallels between the evaluation of health care quality and educational quality. How are customer surveys used to evaluate the quality of teaching at your institutions? How are the results used? Are any other measures available to assess educational quality? What improvements would you suggest to the current system? Teaching evaluations are the â€Å"customer surveys† of education. They are used by faculty and administrators to improve curriculum and teaching methods, to evaluate faculty performance, and to bestow teaching awards. There is general agreement, however, that student evaluations of teaching are insuf? cient assessments of education quality in and of themselves. Students may give high marks to teachers based on personality, lax administration of the class, or the level of dif? culty of the course (easy grades). Further, how can students (who are just learning) judge whether the appropriate material is being taught? On the other hand, the student perceptions should not be ignored. A professor who is very knowledgeable about a subject, but who cannot communicate that knowledge is of little use to the educational process. Therefore, in assessing educational quality, multiple measures of performance should be used, including:  ¦ Teaching evaluations completed by students  ¦ Peer evaluations by faculty  ¦ Surveys of employers  ¦ Surveys of alumni  ¦ Ranking of departmental performance by other deans or industry  ¦ Placement data  ¦ Overall student evaluations based on assessments of total curriculum, rather than individual courses or teachers. QUALITY CLEANERS This case can be used to address several issues and objectives:  ¦ All employees throughout the process must be involved.  ¦ Employees must be accountable for the quality of their work. In service organizations, determining the attributes that de- ?ne quality service, and the corresponding question of how to measure quality can be dif? cult, but must be done,  ¦ The student should have suf? cient understanding of SPC to determine when, where, and how it should be applied.  ¦ Small increases in prevention and appraisal cost wi ll result in large decreases in total cost of quality.  ¦ Records are kept to maintain accountability of the employee to determine bonuses, additional training required, or possible dismissal. Another problem area identi? ed would include quipment (cleaning machine, presses) not functioning properly. These records would also indicate areas where future improvements should be directed. Given below are some points that should be included in the case analysis. 1. Inspections should occur throughout the process with each worker checking his or her work and previous activities also. The astute students will also recognize the capability of using the customer as an inspector. When the garment(s) is brought into the store, the customer should be asked if there are any spots or stains that may require special attention, repairs eeded, special requests, etc. Getting this information from the customer will greatly increase the probability that the service provided meets the customer’s expectations. The counter person and the marker should be checking the garments closely for foreign objects, rather than leaving this for the cleaner, because this has the greatest potential dam age in terms of dollars and dissatis? ed customers. A load ruined by an ink pen would impact 10–20 customers and cost several thousand dollars in claims. 2. Allow for some student creativity. Possibilities would include he counter person, marker, and assembler initialing the ticket at a designated point. The cleaners and pressers could use special shaped (circle, square, triangle, etc. ) punches to punch the identi? cation tag pinned in the garment. Another option would be for the cleaners and pressers to use small plastic tags (as sometimes seen on bakery items) placed on the hanger. Whatever the solution, it should achieve the objective of accountability and require limited time and supplies cost. 3. The additional workload must be tracked over time. Time consumed must be matched with the number of complaints.

Ethical Issues In The Human Genome Project

Ethical Issues In The Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project was the largest international scientific research conducted in the field of Biology. This research project began in 1990 with a mission of discovering all the genes in human DNA and determining the sequences of chemical base pairs which make up the DNA of human. The Human Genome Project was coordinated by the Department of Energy and National Institute of Health, in the USA. The research involved thousands of scientists, biologists, chemists, engineers, computer scientists, mathematicians and human participants from around the world. The researchers plotted several types of biological maps that enabled many other researchers to improve their knowledge and to use them in proceeding with their researches. According to web definitions, a genome is The set of genes that are carried by an individual. A chromosome is a genetic structure that contains cells that contain thousands of genes. The human genome is stored in 23 chromosome pairs. Gene sequencing is a process that determines the sequence of DNA of an organisms genome. The genome that was sequenced for the first time was a virus and was done in 1977. Scientists have discovered that there are over 3 billion DNA base pairs in a haploid human genome. One of the aims of the human genome project was to plot maps that are capable of providing a way for the researchers to locate specific genes in a chromosome. The primary aim of the Human Genome Project was to identify and map all the DNA pairs. There are many applications of Genome research, namely, Bio Technology, Bio Medical Research, Molecular Medicine, DNA Forensics, Agriculture, Livestock Breeding and bio-processing. The outcome of the Human Genome Project enables improved diagnosis of disease, Rational Drug design, creation of customized drugs and Gene therapy. These are several benefits of the HGP in the context of Molecular Medicine and Bio Medical Research. The maps created by the HGP have enabled researchers to unveil many genetic conditions such as inherited colon cancer, Breast cancer and Alzheimers disease. The HGP ( in the filed of DNA forensic) will enable to identify suspects by identifying DNA found in crime scenes, identify parents, and other relationships, and to identify DNA precisely in any context. Furthermore, it enables creation of nutritious products and Biopesticides as benefits to the field of Agriculture and Bi oprocessing. Plants and animals that are more immune to diseases could be created by understanding plant and animal genomes. Moreover, it will enable to reduce cost of agriculture and to provide customers with more nutritious and quality products. The benefits for Bioarchaelogy, Human Evolution and Anthropology are the ability to study the evolution of humans by understanding the genomics, ability to study migration of different populations and to discover the relationships between the archaebacteria, eukaryotes and prokaryotes. On the contrary to the above mentioned benefits, the Human Genome project and its applications have encountered significant social, ethical and legal issues. The main issue is allowing access to gathered genetic information. If the information is accessible by anyone, it could be misused. For example an employer can access this information, and use it in making decisions when they hire people. There may be people who are having genetic disorders, yet physically fit and capable of working. Nevertheless, the employers can decide not to hire them considering the possibility of developing a medical disorder. Decisions are made based on the employees personal genetic information. This could be unfair to a certain group of people with genetic disorders. Making decision based on the genetic information of the employees is unlawful under section 202 of the Genetic Information Non Discrimination Act of 2008. According to Section 202, Employer Practices, it is unlawful for an employer not to h ire or to discharge or to discriminate any employee based on their genetic information. If the data is accessed by Insurance companies, they could use it to earn profits. The person who is willing to insure himself will have to pay a premium depending on the severity of the disease he has. For example, a cancer patients premium will be higher that the premium of a normal person. The ethical issue is discrimination based on the genetic information. It is a known fact that discrimination is used to discourage people in many places such as schools, workplaces, universities, and even in public. There are many instances in which people had to leave workplaces, and children faced many problems in schools due to embarrassment which was a consequence of discrimination. Race and ethnicity discrimination was the most prominent form of discrimination. It has deviated into genetic discrimination since the genetic information is now available. This may cause embarrassment to people with certain genetic disorders, discourage them and even lose their confidence which could let them do wn. To regulate this situation, many governments have set laws and legislations that describe the penalties of discrimination. One such legislation is the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Section 702 of the act States (A) In General For purposes of this section, a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage in connection with a group health plan, may not adjust premium of contribution amounts for the group covered under such plan on the basis of genetic discrimination. It further discusses the penalties for the insurers and employers who use discrimination as a form of gaining profit. Another way of misusing the gathered information is using it do discriminate minority ethnic groups or communities. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Human genome states, No one shall be subjected to discrimination based on genetic characteristics that is intended to infringe or has the effect of infringing human rights, fundamental freedom and human dignity. Therefore even though a persons genetic information is revealed, he has the right to live without being a victim of discrimination. Nevertheless, the existence of the genetic information may lead to several social issues such as racial discrimination. Currently, most people in European countries are victims of racial criticism. The human genome project requires quite a large number of genes to be gathered and stored and then to be tested. The genetic differences between groups of people can be emphasized. This may have a psychological impact due to the differences between genetics. One of the greatest achievements of the Human Genome Project was the genetic map which is capable of facilitating researchers to pin point specific genes in a chromosome. This enables to discover a significant amount of disorders in the human body and doctors to quickly identify the disorders within their patients. Several decades ago, people were not allowed to be aware of the diseases and only the scientists were allowed to discover them and find treatments. The society has revolutionized, and people live more sophisticated lives, therefore, awareness of such diseases is at a higher level. Many people argue that patients have a right to be aware of their illnesses; on the other hand, this has a negative impact on the patients mentality. Even if a genetic disorder is discovered, it takes some time to discover the treatments. For instance, cancer was discovered, several decades ago, however proper treatments with no side effects have not been found yet. Similarly, when a genetic diso rder is diagnosed, it can create frustration and anxiety. This frustration and anxiety will remain within the patients mind until the treatments are discovered and the patient is treated. This may take a short time period or may take a couple of years. It is a well known fact that a person can live longer and happier as long as he is not aware of his illnesses. Another drawback is that people might be discouraged and refuse to live their normal lives due to frustration. Awareness of the genetic disorders can ultimately result in a group of people who are mentally ill which would become a severe social issue. Applying new genetics to unborn children is another area which may cause ethical and social implications. The discoveries of the Human Genome Project have enabled the scientists and doctors to replace cells in unborn children. This implies that parents can have custom-made babies, with the desired features. A possible dilemma is issues related to In-Vitro-Fertilization. In Vitro Fertilization is the process of fertilizing egg cells by male cells (spermatocyte) outside the womb. Since genetic information is available, genes with all good features could be selected and high grade embryos could be created. The concept of Designer Baby is introduced with this technology. Theses embryos could be sold at different prices which may cause in every human having a price and it will depend on the race, intelligence level, eye, or hair color and immunity to diseases. Prices of these designer babies will depend on the quality of the baby. Social issues may arise among people who are able to affor d for a high quality designer baby and people who are not capable of owning one. Another possible social issue is the competition among the designer babies when they grow older. Every parent would want their baby to be a high quality designer baby. The rate of child kidnaps and murders could rise as a result of the designer baby concept. As stated in the previous paragraphs, one of the main objectives of the Human Genome project was to map the DNA sequence. This enables the doctors to modify the embryos and create humans who can live longer, more intelligent and more immune to various diseases. In addition to the issues raised by having designer babies, creation of super human with fewer defects have raised religious issues. It contradicts with the religious beliefs on God of many people. Creation of super human has raised controversial issues among the scientists who are involved in research based on creating humans and spiritual and religious leaders. This is because many religions believe that the creator of humans is God. They believe that the superiority of human is decided by god. The argument brought by them is that only god has the power to create a living creature and humans are not creators, but only creations. They also believe that humans shall never become powerful than God. Moreover, they strongly belie ve that these scientific researches and developments have disappointed God, and the harsh punishments should be given to scientists who are engaged in such research. This religious issue could grow into a serious social issue where people might start attacking the scientists. Previous researches have shown that most people are against modifying embryos to create better quality humans. Furthermore, it is evident that people who are against the creation of super human are mostly religious and spiritual leaders and people who strongly believe in God. Forensic Investigation is another area which is benefitted by the Human Genome Project. Nevertheless, it can be the origin of many social and ethical issues. The DNA gathered by the HGP is stored in a database known as the National DNA databank: CODIS. The goal of storing this information is to use it for forensic investigation, in criminology. Investigations involving DNA is considered to be more accurate. The Combined DNA Index System has become a powerful tool to reduce violent crime as it combines DNA technologies with computers. Two indexes are used in CODIS, namely, The Convicted Offender Index and The Forensic Index. These indexes are generated using the biological evidences gathered from the crime scene. DNA profiles are then created using Short Tandem Repeat analysis. Different software is utilized in CODIS to search for the indexes for matching DNA profiles. According to the sources, the databank contains more than five million DNA profiles. DNA is tested to identify crimin als, but when the tests are done, used DNA records should be destroyed. Proper Disposal of the DNA information is vital or else the persons entire genetic information would be available. This again could be used to discriminate people or to accuse innocent people for crimes which they have not committed. Another distressing issue is the violation of privacy of the owners of the genetic information. Genetic information is considered as private and confidential information of a person and privacy implies that a person has the right to decide the extent of disclosing his or her genetic information. Privacy is violated due to not having proper means of disposing the used samples. Accusing innocent people or arresting them is another negative aspect of storing DNA in a databank. This technology matches DNA profiles of crimes with victims and therefore, it can match a person who has been in the crime scene earlier. This way, innocent people could be accused and arrested, hence discriminat ed and cornered by the society. Another alarming issue is populating criminal databases with DNA samples of people belonging to ethnic minorities. This is mainly done with an intention of discrimination and discouraging people. This is due to not gathering and storing genetic information in an unbiased manner such that it would not be unfair for a group of people. For example, a controversial problem occurred in a European country, for storing DNA samples in a biased manner such that the criminal databases were mostly populated with innocent people belonging to ethnic minorities. Consequently, innocent people were arrested and questioned. Gene Testing is yet another area which may cause social issues. In gene testing, DNA sample are taken and stored in databases, and sometimes used to compare with other peoples DNA samples. Once a DNA test is done, the company issues a copy to the owner of the DNA and results are kept in hard copy files as well as databases. These hard copy files could be accessed by any one and refer to the genetic information and test results of some one. The database can also be hacked and the genetic information can be revealed. It is a known fact that no database is hundred percent secure even if it is an offline database. Therefore security is a main issue in genetic testing. Some of this DNA samples are compared with other samples during tests, and mostly done without the consent of the owner of the DNA sample. Privacy is the main issue of having a massive databank with DNA information of millions of people. DNA can provide information about people including their probability of having certain diseases, sexual orientation or certain behaviors. Gaining access to this information would violate the privacy of another. Police, forensic science service and researchers can access this information without the consent of the people. This violates the privacy of the people. One can use this information unethically, against another to discriminate or to harm someone emotionally. Celebrities would be the first to lose their privacy as many people are keen on gathering information about them. This information could be published and could be the origin of many other issues in their personal lives. The probability for genetic discrimination by the government, schools, employers and insurance companies may increase. Invading someone elses privacy is illegal according to many privacy laws and legislations set by many governments. According to the Privacy Law of the United States of America, privacy is the expectation that confidential personal information disclosed in a private place wil l not be disclosed to third parties, when that disclosure would cause embarrassments or emotional distress to a person of reasonable sensitivities. Furthermore, it discusses the penalties of invading other peoples privacy. Article four of universal Declaration of the Human Genome and Human Rights states that The human genome in its natural state shall not give rise to financial gains. In most countries it is believed that DNA, when removed from a person, is not considered to be in its natural form, hence it is used to gain financial benefits. For instance, in the US, innovations are encouraged by allowing gene patenting. Though using genomes to gain profits is against the Universal declaration of Human Rights many companies tend to use this to gain profits. But many people are against gene patenting for various reasons including their strong beliefs which says that human gene sequences should never be patented. It is also believed that human genome is an inherent part of every person. Gene patenting is prohibited in some parts of the world and there has been evidence of situations in which legal bodies have denied to grant patents. Another area of the Human Genome Project which will cause several ethical, legal and social issues is genetic Testing, Screening and Counseling. As a result of identifying new genes, tests that can determine the level of risk for a particular genetic disease are developed. This will enable people to know whether there is a potential of developing a disease or a genetic disorder which could be passed on to their children. This will have a negative impact on the society. Also it could change the whole life of a person. For example, a person could be mentally letdown if he gets to know that he has a high possibility of developing a rare disease which could not be cured. If this information is revealed, and accessed by an employer this person might not be granted a job. Similarly, if the person wants to get an insurance coverage for himself, he might be required to pay a higher premium to the insurers depending on his disease. Genetic engineering involves manipulation of genes. The map created as a result of the Human Genome Project provides information that will enable to diagnose and treat many diseases. The map can also help in determining the genetic foundation of physical and psychological behavior. As a result, it is possible to alter the behaviors with the involvement of genetics. Two areas of genetic engineering is somatic cell manipulation which alters body cells and germline manipulation which alters reproductive cells. The use of Somatic cell manipulation is ethically accepted as it limits the changes that can be done to an individual. Since it alters only the body cells, the risks are not inherited by the descendants. In contrast, the germline cell manipulation raises ethical issues since the manipulations of reproductive cells can extend the risks across the generations. Genetic engineering done on humans may cause health issues. For example, genes of one person could be enhanced to increase a persons height further than his natural height. But this may cause stress to other parts of the body such as the heart. As a result, the person might be left physically ill. Another key ethical issue of the Human Genome Project is the use of genetic screening. According to web definitions genetic screening is The process of testing individuals in a population for certain hereditary defects. Mandatory genetic screening for adults raises many ethical issues related to privacy and personal liberty. Furthermore, Genetic screening of infants, young infants and other vulnerable groups who cannot grant their consent is unethical. For example, in most cases, infants are screened without the consent of parents. Screening is done based on an assumption that parents are willing to know about the probable diseases that might develop in their children. There is evidence of situations where genetic screening has been used as a form of discrimination. For example, in insuring patients who are willing to obtain a health insurance, there are required to pay extra amounts. In addition to the applications discussed earlier, Agriculture and livestock breeding are two other applications of the genome research. As opposed to the above applications, these areas do not use humans for testing. Yet it may give rise to many health issues which might convert into social issues with time. These applications entails of developing bio engineered food and animals, also known as genetic engineering. This process is similar to genetic engineering done on humans. Though many researchers explain the positive aspect of bio engineered food, many health issues and other side effects night arise by consuming modified food. Many companies tend to create genetically modified food regardless of the consumers health. Regular consumption of genetically modified food may severely damage the health of people; as a consequence, people of a country may not be able to involve in the development process of the country. Furthermore, companies would refuse to hire people and as a result , the country can be populated with unhealthy and unemployed people. Though the mission of The Human Genome Project was accomplished, it is evident that the potential and current applications of the Human Genome Research have caused many issues. Ethical and social issues included issues concerning the privacy of the people, discrimination, unauthorized access to the gathered information and security issues and many other related issues. Issues related to the informed consent and legal issues were also caused by the applications of the genome research. The concepts of super human and designer baby were two controversial concepts that caused religious and social issues. Furthermore, other applications in the field of agriculture and genetic engineered food could cause health issues in the society. In my opinion, the Human Genome project and its current and potential applications have a significant amount of social, ethical, religious and legal issues which would directly affect many peoples lives.

Electronic Business Vs Traditional Business Information Technology Essay

Electronic Business Vs Traditional Business Information Technology Essay 1. Introduction to e-Commerce Electronic commerce, commonly known as (e-shopping) e-commerce or ecommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily with widespread Internet usage. The use of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems(Wikipedia). Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at some point in the transactions lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well. 2. Definition of E Commerce A while back, e commerce referred to any type of business conducted over the Internet. The meaning of the phrase has changed though, and now it means selling an actual product (hard goods) online. This is different from selling a service, such as article writing. (Masteringwebsitemarketing.com) 3. Some Examples of E Commerce This list will show you some products and services-all considered to be a part of e commerce. Online Goods and Services EBooks (Sample example below): CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD eBOOK Software Retail services Ordering flowers, food or clothes Marketplace Services Auctions Online wallet (An online wallet is a program or web service that allows users to store and control their online shopping information, like logins, passwords, shipping address and credit card details, in one central place. Wikipedia) Advertising 4. More on Definition of E Commerce and Introduction to E Commerce- Its History Ecommerce began in 1994 when a man named Jeff Bezos started Amazon.com, selling things out of his garage. Ever since, more and more businesses have attained a reputation online-companies like eBay and Target. Across the world there are around 8 million people who shop online. A study has shown that by 2011, profits from online retail sales will pass a quarter of a trillion dollars! So, you can see how important e commerce is to the lives of many people. 5. E Commerce characteristics The understanding of the e commerce paradigm varies among academics and practitioners. According to ALTER (2002) e-commerce is the practice of performing and coordinating critical business processes such as designing products, obtaining supplies manufacturing selling and fulfilling orders and providing services through the extensive use of computer and communication technologies and computerized data, DRUCKER (2002) however talks about ecommerce as the explosive emergence of the internet as a major world wide distribution channel for jobs and services, which in the end results in changes in markets and industry structure as well as economics in general. An extensive study shows that ecommerce do not have a common accepted definition which is a sign of research area that is still emerging and maturing and one that involves different research domains as marketing, computer science or strategic management (WILKINS 2000). Summarizing the definitions of ecommerce and in accordance with the organization of economic cooperation and development, 5 major characteristics can be concluded, (OECD1999): Use of information and communication systems to standardize, automate and integrate transactions. Transformation of marketplaces and creation of new industries Increased connection and interactivity of and between the business partners over electronic networks. Alteration of the relative importance of time and resources Catalytic effects of inter and intra organizational transaction 6. Benefits Starting an e commerce store has benefits to you, the merchant, and to your customers. Some of the biggest benefits are cheaper products and setting up and maintaining your online store-all done more easily than you can with a brick-and-mortar store. To conclude the introduction to and definition of e commerce, lets look at its benefits. 24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week With an e commerce website, you can serve your customers 24/7! They can order any time of day or night. Want to sleep in? Go on a vacation? No problem! Your customers can keep shopping and ordering, even when youre not there. (Powertips.com.au) Opportunities to Create Relationships E commerce opens the door to new opportunities for relationships with your customers, both new and old. When your business is online, it is accessible to customers the world over; so there are many new opportunities for new relationships. You would not have most of these customers if your business wasnt online. Increase in Sales Starting an e commerce site is a great way to increase the sales for your brick-and-mortar store. Many store owners dont think of how much their business could increase if they attain an online presence. It just doesnt occur to them! However, it is a great way to increase sales at your offline store. Brand Awareness The ability to reach millions of potential customers all over the world will increase knowledge of your product line. You can get people talking about your products, which is free, word-of-mouth advertising! Expands Your Customer Base As we mentioned briefly, having an e commerce business means that you can get customers from all over the world. There are almost no limits as to who you can sell to, and where. Offline stores are limited to getting customers locally. But e commerce removes these restrictions! At the very least, target Canada, the UK and Australia as well as the USA. Builds Customer Loyalty With an e commerce store, its simple to show off your goods to customers in a unique way. If your store is easy to access and shop with, you will have loyal, lifetime customers. Promotion is Easy! Its easy to deliver information to your customers over the Internet! Make your promotions, data, and information easily accessible. Of course, youll want to put a lot of this information in a newsletter that you send to your customers on a regular basis. Decreases Your Expenses Going online can decrease your costs, too. If your business is online, you wont need much staff (if any!) Plus, theres no real location necessary, so you wont have to pay for rent or maintenance. Increases Your Earnings If you have a Business already, opening an e commerce site can be a big pick-me-up for your business. Its important to increase your profits, and going the e commerce route can be a big help. More sales = More profits = Bigger budget for your business. Smaller Target Group While your customer base can extend well beyond your local area using e commerce, its also easy to tighten your niche. Online, you have more control over who your business targets. You can target young couples, singles, teens, seniors, men, women, or a specific ethnic group. This type of targeting is done by using keywords that are popular to the demographic you are trying to reach. The meaning of Electronic Commerce (e-commerce) has changed over the past 30 years as today it is considered to be the buying and selling of products or services over an electronic system i.e. the internet. Â   Since the spread of this, the amount of trade conducted electronically has grown tremendously. Now the World Wide Web (WWW) is being used by modern e-commerce, which is generally considered to be the sales aspect of electronic business and consists of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment of business transactions. Â   7. Comparing electronic business to traditional business Now days, technology has made human life easier and better. It has developed many fields to perform their task easier such as, manufacturing, constructions and many more. Business sector has also changed a lot with the improvement of technology from traditional business it evolves to e-business and bringing a big difference in three major areas that is time, trust and as we all know that time is precious for many people, the same thing is applied in by the entrepreneurs in their businesses. The advantage of e-business is convenient because people do not need to go out and talk to customer or find for customers instead they can sit in the house and do their work through internet. Besides, e-business makes our life easier because any business transaction can be done through the internet and also safe our time from travelling up and down. Some example of e-business is e-shops; e-commerce and e-auctions, with this new technology on e-business people are able to make their life even bette r. Where as, on the other hand traditional business is totally opposite then e-business because it is not so convenient because we need to go out and find customer, the advantage of this traditional business is that they provide good service and gain customers trust but amount of energy wasted is not really worth it sometimes. Further more, traditional business waste energy because need to travel a lot and quit a lot of paper work need to be done for one transaction and sometimes time and also waste time because lets say if the supplier want to buy a product from the manufacturer the supplier need to send letter to get the quotations and he must survey around which manufacturer offer the cheapest and etc. by doing this way the supplier is actually wasting a lot of time. (E-business amazon vs. borders) One simple thing that certainly differs e-business from traditional business is the technology that underpins the business itself. E-business is built electronically on a network; therefore, without a network its completely impossible for an e-business to survive. The use of technology will bring a huge impact on the way of a business communicates with its customers. This business communication models are categorized by Schneider into three different types [1] Personal contact (one to one) In this type of communication model, the organization assigns its employees to identify and reach the prospective customers [1]. The simplest example for this approach is the sales person who calls the potential customer and introduces the products offered by his company. This approach has been widely implemented by traditional business. Mass media (one to many) The mass media approach allows the organization to broadcast advertising and promotional materials on its products [1]. Examples for this approach are advertisement on television, radio, newspaper or magazine. This approach has also been widely adopted by traditional business. The web (many to one or many to many) The internet is neither a mass media nor a personal contact device [1]. It stands on the middle of the fine line where mass media is allocated at the first side and personal contact at the other side. The web provides more interactivity than mass media does to its audience but less than personal contact could offer. For example, an internet user can type in his keywords on a search engine tool (e.g. Google) and click on the products that catch his attention. The web is the approach that is adopted by e-business. So, what impacts that the web can bring to-business as its business communication model? The communication model adopted by e-business will surely raise new barriers that need to be brought to attention. The low level of trust Unlike traditional business who can gain trust from its prospective customers through a straight, personal contact, the web eliminates the customers privileges to experience such personal contact with both the products and organization they want to buy the products from. In traditional business, customers come to a store and have personal interaction with the organization through its sales person and then, possibly, have personal contact with the product. These types of experience somehow develop trust towards the organization and are very important for certain types of product. The need of good electronic marketing strategies It is undeniably that internet provides the facilities for business to broadcast their advertisement. However, it doesnt have such power to force its audience to view or click on the ads [2]. An audience has the opportunity to create a list of product by using search engine tool (e.g. Google) and click on the product that catches his attention. Therefore, some traditional marketing strategies are not applicable in e-business. New marketing strategies such as how to increase the rank of a company on search engines are more likely to gain attention in running an e-business. E-Business is changing the relationship between merchant and customer, whether it is business to business or business to consumer Business, or the government isomers of these. Relationship building is paramount. Savvy Internet users know that if they cannot get good service, which also means an easily navigable web site, they can move on and quickly. The Internet is providing customers with growing power and purchasing control. Shopping agents will find the lowest price; scams or poor service will quickly be identified and passed on. In addition there is still a strong ethic of free stuff on the web. Consumers in particular are looking for free information and services. Providing these aspects is a crucial part of relationship building which will form the basis of electronic Business into the future. With the potential speed and efficiency of electronic communications and transactions, the nature of inventory is changing. A virtual shop on the web may carry no stock at all, relying on suppliers to fulfil orders; a small, on-site inventory can be replenished with just-in-time manufacturing E-business improves the benefit and efficiency of traditional business, comparing with traditional business, E-business has the following advantages: E-business improves the benefit and efficiency of traditional business, especially international trade. Compared to traditional models, 8. E-business has six main advantages compared to that of traditional business: (1) Reduces business cost. Firstly, e-business can improve the marketing efficiency and decrease promotional costs by network marketing enterprises. According to statistics, advertising on the internet can increase sales volume by 10 times, while the cost is only 10% of traditional advertisements; Secondly, E-business can reduce stock cost, because it can find more suppliers with the most favourable prices in the global market by internet enterprises, and sharing information with suppliers can also reduce problems caused by long communication chains. Some studies indicate that using EDI usually can save stock cost for enterprises by 5%-10%. (2) Decreases stock, Decreases Waste. Enterprises should maintain a certain stock of products and materials to deal with fluctuant market requirements. The essential reason for stocking up is lack of information, a lack of information E-business based suppliers and manufacturers dont have. They can send information of market requirements to enterprises to make decision and produce by internet, and enterprises requirement information can be transferred to suppliers to supply on time, leading to zero-inventory management. (3) Shorter production cycles. To create a saleable product is often the cooperation of many enterprises. The products design, produce and sales may be managed by many different related enterprises. Using E-business can change the stage-cooperation method caused by lack of information into coordinated work methods, improving business to business (B2B) relations. (4) Increases business opportunities. Traditional trade is limited by time and space, but E-business is a global 24 hour operation. Business on the internet can expand in the market that the traditional marketing and advertisement promotion can not reach. (5) Reduces material dependence. Traditional enterprises must have a certain number of materials to develop business, but the E-business in internet can built virtual enterprise, such as shop and bank on network, they dont need many practical basic instruments, and the enterprises can transfer the saved cost to customers, this is the reason that Amazon, a book shop on network can supply customers discount that the traditional book shops can not supply. (6) Cuts out the middle man. E-business redefines the traditional currency mode and reduces middle links in B2B relations and international trade. E-commerce allows the possibility of direct transaction between manufacturers and buyers, across borders, thereby changing the economy of the entire world. 9. Conclusion Today, ecommerce is the latest mantra in increasing your sales. This is because instead of selling your goods and services through a local store, you can sell online and gain a greater customer base. Apart from providing shipping services, you will need an online ecommerce merchant account to accept credit card payments to make your venture a success. These days, even a restaurant is running under ecommerce system. Ecommerce solution provider performs many jobs for the Restaurant, such as, they put online restaurant menu, online restaurant ordering systems and bed and breakfast booking system. There are many ways to get your products and services online, from a simple brochure site to a high-end database driven site. In this way, we see that ecommerce has changed the people to do the business in a different way. Every thing in this world has been being globalize and of course business is no exception. Global ecommerce business has been new trends in ecommerce business and plays a pivotal role in global economy. Also the role of ecommerce business solution providers cannot be ignored because you cannot imagine successful and fruitful ecommerce business without their assistance.

How Evil is Portrayed in Lord of the Flies by George Orwell Essay examp

How Evil is Portrayed in Lord of the Flies by George Orwell William Golding uses allegory in Lord of the Flies to portray the evil that is in people. An allegory is a story with an underlying meaning as well as a literal one. William Golding uses allegory on two levels in Lord of the Flies, one relating to World War Two that had just taken place when the book was written and another relating to Jesus Christ and the Garden of Eden. An important aspect of the novel is the time in which it was written, due to the Second World War ending. This means that Golding would have experienced and seen the cruelty and bitterness of man. William Golding had a theory as to why people do evil things. This was known as the 'original sin' or 'inner evil'. He believed that when you are born you have a certain amount of good and a certain amount of evil inside you. There are many characters that are protrayed as evil, one of which is Roger. Roger is pure evil, and only in the last four chapters does the reader discover this. Roger seems to be quite timid at the beginning of the story when he marches in with the choir. However, as the story progresses, Roger starts to show signs of evil escaping him. Roger could be compeared to satan in an allegorical level. He can be decribed as satan because of the number of evil acts which have been manufested by him. He also is the one who is solely responsible for the death of Piggy. Roger is described as a small boy with dirty and shaggy black hair, ' he was noticeably darker than when he had dropped in, but the shock of black hair down his nape and low on his forehead, seemed to suit his gloomy face and ma... ... portray evil in the Lord of the Flies, such as Roger, the 'scar' and the 'beastie'. At the end of the novel they are saved by a naval officer. The arrival of the naval officer thus seems like a happy and ironic ending, but if one digs deeper it is just a continuance from one war to another. Once all the boys get on the Navy cruiser, they'll most likely just be subjected to more battle and fighting, this time on a worldwide level, due to the war taking place in the outside world. Golding makes his views and messages of the 'darkness in mans heart' with this book, because it shows us what man is capable of if there was no social control. He has shown us that without these conditions, our ideals, values, and the basics of right and wrong are lost. Without society's rigid rules, anarchy and savagery can come to light.

Resistance of a Wire :: Papers

Resistance of a Wire Aim: - I hope to find out how resistance of a wire is affected. Prediction: - I predict that as the length of the wire increases the resistance will also increase. Scientific Knowledge: - ======================= A wire is a bundle of metal strips coated in plastic. The plastic can vary in colour and connect to different terminals These are: - ------------ ÂÂ · Black = negative terminal ÂÂ · Red = positive terminal ÂÂ · Blue = neutral terminal ÂÂ · Green and yellow = earth terminal ÂÂ · Brown = live terminal The material varies because it has free electrons, which are able to flow through the wire. The number of the electrons depends on the amount of electrons in the outer energy shell of the atoms, so if there are more or larger atoms then there must be more electrons available. If the material has a high number of atoms there will be a high number of electrons causing a lower resistance because of the increase in the number of electrons. Also if the atoms in the material are closely packed then the electrons will have more frequent collisions and the resistance will increase. Resistance is measured in Ohm's (ÃŽÂ ©). Ohm's Law The law actually says that the resistance of a metal conductor is the same whatever the current - unless it's getting hotter. However most people think of these equations when the law gets mentioned: V = IR V is Voltage in Volts, I is Current in Amps and R is resistance in Ohms. If the length of the wire is increased then the resistance will also increase as the electrons will have a longer distance to travel and so more collisions will occur. Due to this the length increase should be proportional to the resistance increase. If the wires width is increased the resistance will decrease. This is because of the increase in the space for the electrons to travel through.

My Semester in France Essay -- Personal Narrative, essay about myself

There was a warm breeze that Friday in September when I packed my two large bags, kissed my family and friends good-bye, and left my home. Thus the greatest adventure of my life was begun. On my first day of studying in France, I woke up early and took a quasi-shower, which consisted of sprinkling myself with water for hours until all the soap finally drained out of my hair. My dressing procedures were followed by a silent breakfast that consisted of some bitter-tasting, dark liquid and a hard, bread-like substance. The bread I ate dry, for fear of the dark scary-looking pot of jam. I packed my books and headed off for class. As soon as I left my street, a man on a bike stared at me as he passed. "Stupid American," he thought and went about his business. Walking on, I passed a bakery with numerous strange people inside getting their baguettes. They stared at me as I passed, then they all turned to one another and made various snide remarks about me. They chuckled, thinking I didn't understand anything that they were saying. When I got to the first stoplight, I waited for the little man to turn green. The drivers who had a red light chuckled and thought to themselves, "That girl has no idea what she's doing. Don't they have street signs in America?" Walking along the street, there was a man walking his dog. I smiled at him, and he scowled and thought, "Silly Americans. Always smiling at everything." Next I passed a school, where a number of mothers were chatting outside, having just dropped their children off They looked at me, then back at each other. One said, "Oh my, I wouldn't wear that unless I was an American." Eventually, I passed a car repair garage. The men inside looked up a... ...hing to do with me. I spent a semester building a life in France. I spent it letting go of what I thought and embracing what I never imagined could be true. I learned a great deal about who I am and what I can accomplish. But I think the most important thing I learned is the magnitude of perception. I think I brought home with me the understanding that the world is more a sequence of varying perspectives, than one, defined order. Like the man on the bike and the people on the street and the church bells-and myself-life is shaped far less by reality than by our perception of it. I scurried home at the sound of the church bells, back through the streets of my little town. The air was crisp and cold on that Friday in December when I packed my bags, a little bulkier than before, kissed my family and friends good-bye, And left my home. My Semester in France Essay -- Personal Narrative, essay about myself There was a warm breeze that Friday in September when I packed my two large bags, kissed my family and friends good-bye, and left my home. Thus the greatest adventure of my life was begun. On my first day of studying in France, I woke up early and took a quasi-shower, which consisted of sprinkling myself with water for hours until all the soap finally drained out of my hair. My dressing procedures were followed by a silent breakfast that consisted of some bitter-tasting, dark liquid and a hard, bread-like substance. The bread I ate dry, for fear of the dark scary-looking pot of jam. I packed my books and headed off for class. As soon as I left my street, a man on a bike stared at me as he passed. "Stupid American," he thought and went about his business. Walking on, I passed a bakery with numerous strange people inside getting their baguettes. They stared at me as I passed, then they all turned to one another and made various snide remarks about me. They chuckled, thinking I didn't understand anything that they were saying. When I got to the first stoplight, I waited for the little man to turn green. The drivers who had a red light chuckled and thought to themselves, "That girl has no idea what she's doing. Don't they have street signs in America?" Walking along the street, there was a man walking his dog. I smiled at him, and he scowled and thought, "Silly Americans. Always smiling at everything." Next I passed a school, where a number of mothers were chatting outside, having just dropped their children off They looked at me, then back at each other. One said, "Oh my, I wouldn't wear that unless I was an American." Eventually, I passed a car repair garage. The men inside looked up a... ...hing to do with me. I spent a semester building a life in France. I spent it letting go of what I thought and embracing what I never imagined could be true. I learned a great deal about who I am and what I can accomplish. But I think the most important thing I learned is the magnitude of perception. I think I brought home with me the understanding that the world is more a sequence of varying perspectives, than one, defined order. Like the man on the bike and the people on the street and the church bells-and myself-life is shaped far less by reality than by our perception of it. I scurried home at the sound of the church bells, back through the streets of my little town. The air was crisp and cold on that Friday in December when I packed my bags, a little bulkier than before, kissed my family and friends good-bye, And left my home.

How Much Business Risk Does American Home Products Face Essay

1. How much business risk does American Home Products face? How much financial risk would American Home Products face at each of the proposed levels of debt shown in case Exhibit 3? How much potential value, if any can American Home Products create for its shareholders at each of the proposed levels of debt? (See Exhibits 1 and 2 ) American Home Products currently has low business risk due to the conservative nature of their business. They piggyback on first movers to lower their research and development costs. They excel in marketing therefore they concentrate on outselling their competitors. Also, they have low business risk because they are diversified among four product lines: prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, food products, and housewares producing over 1500 products. Three of American Home Products’ product lines (prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, and food products) are within the defensive industries which mean they have little sensitivity to the business cycle. These industries outperform others even when the economy is bad. In addition, through diversification of manufacturing a variance of product lines, if one product line were to experience a decrease in sales, the other lines should theoretically pick up the slack. AMH appears to be a healthy company when looking at its financial statements. AMH’s net worth (total assets-total debt) is 1,472.8 million. They have an excess cash of $233 million. Their ROE, profit margin, ROA, and A/R receivable turnover days all illustrate AMH’s financial strength indicating that they can rapidly generate cash to sustain their current growth rate, at 30.3%, 11.7%, 18.72%, AND 49.73 days respectively. AMH outperforms their industry in all above mentioned ratios. (See Exhibit #1). However it should be noted that their sales have decreased 5.3% from 14.1% in 1978 to 8.8% in 1981. This foreshadows possible risk in the future. This is why AMH is rethinking their conservative and â€Å"tightfisted spending† business approaches. Currently AMH’s financial performance is strong. (Refer to Exhibit #2). Their high return on equity (ROE) at 30.3% illustrates how much profit the company is generating with the shareholder’s investments. In addition, they have low debt to equity and low debt to asset (debt) ratios both at .005. This further signals their financial strength. From the debt ratios we see that a change decrease in sales or an increase in interest payments would not affect AMH because they have plenty of free cash flow. However the debt ratios also indicate that management may not be responsibly growing the company through the use of leverage and forgoing many opportunities for future growth. Therefore when you compare the increase of debt alternatives AMH has you can see an increase in debt to equity and debt to debt to asset ratios. For example the debt to equity ratio increases at each level, 30%, 50%, and 70%, to .17,.32, and .513 respectively. The same is true for the debt to asset ratio. It increases to .15,.24,and .34 at 30%,50%,and 70% respectively. Although these could signal financial solvency issues, the industry’s debt to equity ratio is .32, and their debt to asset ratio is .24. This is consistent with the AMH’s 50% debt alternative option. However, the increase of debt adds value to the company. This is best illustrated when looking at the earnings per share (EPS) and dividend payout ratio. As the debt increases so do both of the above mentioned ratios. EPS consistently increases from 3.18 with no added leverage to 3.33 at 30%, 3.41 at 50%, and 3.49 at 70%. The DPS ratio increase from .597 at no additional leverage to .602 at 70%. Shareholders often interpret an increase in dividends as an increase in confidence of future growth within the company. AMH is financially strong; however, the provided statistics show it would be best for the company to increase its leverage to a certain level to add more value to the stockholders. If it merely utilizes the excess cash flow of $233 million to repurchase stocks it only adds value to the stockholders in the short run. In the long run AMH should increase their leverage investing in areas such as R&D of new and existing products. This will not only increase value for the company but essentially add value to the stockholders. This reduces AMH’s probable future risk of losing market share to competitors. I believe the certain level is the 30% alternative. 2. What capital structure would you recommend as appropriate for AHP? What are the advantages of leveraging this company? The disadvantages? How would leveraging up affect the company’s taxes? How would the capital markets react to a decision by the company to increase the use of debt in its capital structure? I would recommend the 30% capital structure level. One reason I chose this level is because of the already conservative business atmosphere. This level will receive less resistance for acceptance than the higher levels of 50% and 70%. It still keeps them above the industry on all performance ratios. (Recall that the industry is more consistent with the 50% alternative option.) This will increase their DPS from $1.90 to $2.00. This will increase confidence among investors. Their EPS will increase from 3.18 to 3.33 signally they are increasing value for the stockholders. AMH’s dividend payout ratio will increase from .597 to .601. Their stock price should also increase from $30.00 to $35.66. This is forecasted by dividing the total market value of common stock ($4,838.56) by the average common shares outstanding (135.7 million). In addition there are other advantages of increase the firm’s leverage. They include: creating a tax shield, generating more free cash flow for future expansions, generating more free cash flow to repurchase stock, a short run increase in EPS due to repurchase of stocks, and overall an increase to the intrinsic value of the company. As always with advantages, disadvantages are present to. They include: an increase in financial risk. Despite the tax shield, the interest payment will result in a decrease to net income, and the bond rating could decrease to a AA status. The bond rating for a AAA is determined by a 18 Times Interest Earned Ratio. Once AMH increases their leverage to 30%, they will decrease their TIE to 17.50. Whereas, a AA is currently rated around a 9, further debt acquisition could result in a decrease of their bond rating and a decrease in value for stockholders. (Calculation: EBIT/Interest= tie ratio 922.2/52.,7=17.50) Although the increased leverage decreases the amount of earnings available to stock holders from 496.9 million to 451.7 million for a total of 45.2 million dollars, it has a positive affect for the company’s tax structure. It actually reduces the company’s tax liability by 83 million dollars! Without the debt they have to pay 952.5 million dollars in taxes. However after an increase of 30% leverage, the new tax liability is 869.5 million dollars. Although the accounting value of the stock price appears more significant, the market value of the stock price will increase, too. Since you have to factor in the new liability of $362.2 million dollars for the debt, he new stockholders’ equity will be calculated at $4838.86 less 233 less 362.2 in millions arriving at $4,243.66 reducing the number of stock repurchases by 19.126.. Then dividing the new stockholders’ equity by shares outstanding (136.374) and arriving at the new stock price of $31.12. 3. How might AHP implement a more aggressive capital structure policy? What are the alternative methods for leveraging up? The obvious alternative for AMH to implement a more aggressive capital structure policy is to acquire more debt by utilizing the other options at 50% or 70%. Alternative methods for leveraging up include: purchasing shares of outstanding stock at the same time as the company issues bonds, create convertible security options for their stockholders where they can turn in stocks for the new bond securities, buy fixed assets, and utilizing derivatives in hedge funds to leverage the company’s assets. 4. In view of AHP’s unique corporate culture, what arguments would you advance to persuade Mr. Laporte or his successor to adopt your recommendation? The very first thing I will do is show Mr. Laporte my charts that illustrate how increasing debt will bring an increase of overall stockholders wealth. My Laport believes that a company’s main goal is to build value for stockholders, so I will start there. Since, I know he will be still be reluctant, I next will show him how the debt can be repurchased by AHP at a later date if he feels necessary. I will show him that the earnings available at the end of the year for common stockholders are more than the total debt amount. I will further show him that the net worth of the company is $1,654.5 which also could absorb the costs. (The second option would actually be the better of the two options for repurchase of debt.) Then, I will show Mr. Laporte how the tax advantage will save the company 83 million dollars in the first year! I will reassure him that the financial ratios already illustrate that he has superb management skills and can efficiently and effectively manage the company’s assets, thus he will excel with the new capital structure. Furthermore, the new leverage will still keep the company outperforming competitors within the industry. I will show him the industry ratio chart below. Lastly, I will suggest the increased free cash flow can also be utilized in research and development and perhaps gain a new absolute advantage!

Persuasive Essay About Smoking

heater The Inhaled Killer Smoking is a very harmful enjoyment that should be banned. This nasty habit has m some(prenominal) atrocious side-effects. It braces yellow teeth, bad breath, smokers always olfactory modality like smoke, death, heart disease, cancer, asthma, emphysema, and many separate health related problems. Smoking is in any case very expensive. Cost of locoweed. com says that a soul spends thousands of dollars a year on cig atomic number 18ttes. Smokers alike pay more for insurance because they are expected to have a shorter carriage span.Not to mention the cost of health bills from the heartbreaking effects. Why would you want to pick up a terrible habit that wastes your toilsome earned m oney and harms your body? Smoking should be banned to lower the pauperization rate and make our world a healthier place. Another reason smoking should be banned is, second-hand smoke. Young children, family members, and crimson strangers are all affected by the smoke g iven hit from poofs. Yes, charge those who do not smoke their selves.Whenever individual hangs up, the smoke that is released goes into the air and everyone inhales it. This is a colossal problem in public areas. I live with someone who smokes, and I nauseate smoking. It is gross and makes air difficult to breathe. volume who inhaled second-hand smoke can grow up to have lung cancer, or develop any of the other diseases cause by cigarette smoke. Smoke can also jaunt asthma attacks, which have been screwn to cause death.Do you want to live with the guilt and know you caused the attack or disease that killed an poverty-stricken person or loved one? Some argue they are given up to smoking because of the nicotine. This can be avoided by never starting the horrible habit or by using patches, pills, and the incite of a doctor to help you come in smoking. So next time you light up, or witness someone smoking, call in about or remind them off the effects. Is the loss of a lif e sincerely worth it?